■ 

LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

Theological  Seminary, 

BX  5021    .A1  A32 
Adams,  Thomas,   f1.  1612- 
1  653. 

The  three  divine  sisters, 

Book,  N»,.,  ^ 


J  From  the  AUTHOR.  ^  ^[ 


I 


THE  THREE  DIVINE  SISTERS, 

FAITH,  HOP n,  AND  OHARITT. 

THE  LEAVEN;  OR,  A  DIRECTION  TO  HEAVEN. 
A  CRUCIFIX; 

A     SBKMON    UPON    THB  PASSIOW. 

SEMPER  IDEM; 

TH»     lUMnTABLB     M  It  R  0  T     OF     JESUS  CHRIST 
ETC.  ETC.  ETC. 

BT  THB 

REV.   THOMAS  ADAMS, 

INTRODUCTION  BY  THE  REV.  W.  H.  STOWELL, 


NEW  YORK: 
ROBERT  CARTER,  58  CANAL  STREET; 
AND  PITTSBURG,  50  MARKET  STREET. 


1847. 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arcliive 
in  2015 


https://arcliive.org/details/threedivinesisteOOadam 


THE 

THREE  DIVINE  SISTERS. 


Now  kbUeth  Itilh,  hope,  charity,  these  three ;  but  the  eiettest  of  these  It 
charity.-l  Cor.xlU.  13. 


CONTE  NTS. 


Tho 'nii-00  Divine  Sislejs.  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity,  .  1 
The  Loavea  or,  A  Direction  to  llearen,  .  .  .21 
A  Crucifix  or,  A  Sermon  upon  the  Passion,  .  .  43 
Semper  Idem  or  I'he  Immutable  Mercy  olJesus  Christ,  69 
Heaven  3  Gate,  or.  The  Passage  to  Paradise,  ....  87 
Kaiesty  in  Misery   cr  I'he  i'ower  of  Christ  e-.-en  Dying,      .  109 

The  Fool  and  his  Sport,  .   131 

The  Christian'B  Walk;  or.  The  Kings  Highway  oi' Charity,  143 
Love's  Copy;  or,  I'he  Best  Precedent  ol  Charity,  .  .  .169 
God  3  Bounty ;  or, 'I'he  Blessings  of  both  his  Hands,   .      .  187 

rolitio  Hunting   227 

The  Taming  of  the  Tongue  261 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS; 


REV.    W.  H.    S  T  O  W  E  L  L, 

FmaSIDBNT  or  the  INDEFBI<IOE>TCOLI.EOE(B0TUEnaA,ll. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS. 


The  series  of  AVorks  -nhich  tliis  Volume  introduces,  is  intended 
to  rni.sw  of  writings  less  general!)'  I.noisn  than  those  which  have 
already  appeared  ;  and  the  Author,  for  w  hom  we  now  bespeak  the 
reader's  favour,  is  one  of  whom,  jicrhaps,  less  is  known  than  of 
any  others  whose  works  will  be  rcDublishcd.  To  prevent  confusion 
and  mistake,  we  bcKiM  by  statin'j,  that  he  is  nut  Thnmns  Adam, 
Rector  of  Wintringham,  in  Lincolnshire,  author  of  a  volume  of 
sermons,  and  of  the  well-known  "  I'rivatc  Thoughts,"  who  died 
in  1784. 

Neither  is  ha  the  Thomas  .\dams  nunlioncd  in  Wood's  Athcmo 
Oxouleiises,  as  admitted  "  a  student  ol  lli  azi  nuose  CoUetce.  (_)xford, 
July  1040;  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  r.-hruaiy  3,  1052;  ami  Fellow  of 
the  same  college  in  1G52,  wlio,  after  lie  liad  taken  the  degree  of 
Jlaster,  became  a  frequent  prpaclii  r  in  th"se  jiarts ;  was  removed 
from  his  fellowship  in  1652,  fir  nonconformity  ;  went  to  ]>ondon, 
and  carried  on  his  nonconformity  by  preaching  in  conventicles.  He 
hath  written  The  Main  Principles  of  Christian  Keligion,  in  107  short 
articles  or  aphorisms,  generally  received,  as  l;eing  proved  from 
Scrijiturc ;  now  further  cleared  and  confirmed  by  the  consonant 
doctrine  recorded  in  the  Articles  and  Homilies  of  the  Church  of 
Entrland,  under  fiur  heads,  viz.  Of  things  to  be  believed,  &c. 
London,  1675-77,  October;  mncii  about  which  time  the  author 
di"d." 

The  Tliimias  Ad.ams  thus  spolu  n  of  was  j/'>«;i_7cr  brother  to  lii- 
cbard  .Vdams,  one  of  the  editors  of  Charnock's  works  on  "  I'rovi- 
ilence  and  on  the  Attributts,"  a  minister's  son  of  Worrall,  in  Che- 
shire, and  originally  of  Caiabri  1-e,  where  he  was  examined  and 


INTRODL'CTIOX  TO  AUAMS'  WORKS. 


admitted  bachelor  of  arts,  26th  March  1644.  Afterwards  he  went 
to  Oxon,  when  the  garrison  thereof  was  surrendered  to  the  Parlia- 
ment ;  was  admitted  a  student  of  Brazenno.se  College  24th  March 
1646,  aged  20  years,  and  soon  after  made  fellow  thereof.  "  In 
1655  he  left  his  fellowship,  being  about  that  time  beneficed  at  ist 
Mildreds,  Bread  Street,  in  London;  and,  in  1662,  he  was  removed 
for  nonconformity, — from  which  time  to  this  he  hath  continued  a 
nonconformist  preacher,  and  now  liveth,  if  I  mistake  not,  in  South- 
wark.    Under  his  name  hath  been  published  several  sermons."* 

In  Palmer's  edition  of  Calamy's  Nonconformist's  Memorial,  the 
following  brief  account  is  given  of  the  Thomas  Adams  already  men- 
tioned : — •"  He  performed  all  his  exercises  with  applause ;  and,  being 
generally  esteemed  for  his  learning,  piety,  good  humour,  and  dili- 
gence, he  passed  through  all  offices  which  a  person  of  his  under- 
standing was  capable  of.  He  had  a  competent  number  of  pupils 
under  his  care.  Upon  his  ejection,  he  settled  with  Sir  Samuel 
Jones,  then  near  Salop,  Shropshire,  afterwards  near  Northampton, 
and  was  very  usefid  in  his  family.  He  was  afterwards  chaplain 
to  the  Countess  Dowager  of  Clare.  He  had  two  brothers,  who 
lived  in  London,  one  of  whom  was  Mr  R.  Adams  before  mention- 
ed. His  labours  in  that  honourable  family,  by  his  catechising  and 
weekly  preaching,  were  very  acceptable.  He  died  on  December 
11,1670.  His  works  are,  'Protestant  Union;  or.  Principles  of 
Religion,  wherein  the  Dissenters  agree  with  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land,' in  two  sheets,  price  2d  ;  '  The  Main  Principles,'  &c.,  the  work 
mentioned  by  Wood." 

The  Thomas  Adams,  of  whose  writings  we  are  about  to  lay  some 
specimens  before  the  public,  was  minister  at  WUlington,  Bedford- 
shire, and  a  preacher  at  Paul's  Cross,  in  1612,  which  must  have  been 
several  years  before  the  Nonconformist  minister  of  the  same  name 
was  bom. 

His  collected  works  were  published  by  himself  in  1630,  when  the 
younger  brother  of  Richard  Adams  could  not  have  been  three  years 
old. 

The  works  ascribed  to  Thomas  Adams,  the  Nonconformist,  both 
by  Wood  and  by  Calamy,  are  not  the  works  published  by  the 
Thomas  Adams  now  before  us.  An  Exposition  of  the  Second 
Epistle  of  Saint  Peter  was  pubhshed  in  1633.  It  is  announced  in 
the  title-page  as  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Adams,  the  Rector  of  St 
Gregory's,  London.    It  is  dedicated  to  Sir  Henry  Martin,  Knight, 

*  Wood's  Athenae  Oxonienses,  vol.  i.  p.  1 08,  2d  edition.    London,  1721. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS. 


Judge  of  his  Majesty's  High  Court  of  Admiralty,  and  Dean  of  the 
Arches  Court  of  Canterbury.  This  work  was  republished  by  Mr 
Holdsworth,  corrected  and  revised  by  the  Rev.  James  Sherman,  in 
1842. 

From  a  comparison  of  the  date  of  the  Exposition  with  that  of  the 
publication  of  "  The  Workcs,"  and  of  a  reference  to  farther  publica- 
tions in  the  preface  to  "  The  Workes"  in  1630,  with  the  reference 
in  the  dedication  of  the  Exposition  to  former  works  in  1633,  toge- 
ther with  numberless  internal  evidences  of  sentiment  and  expression, 
we  gather  that  they  are  undoubtedly  the  production  of  the  same  mind. 

The  "  Workes,"  from  which  the  treatises  composing  these  two 
volumes  are  taken,  had  been  published  in  smaller  editions  of  thin 
quarto  volumes,  during  several  years  ;  and,  in  1630,  the  author 
published  them  all  in  one  folio  volume  of  1240  pages.  This  volume 
is  dedicated  to  William  Earl  of  Pembroke,  the  active  and  liberal 
promoter  of  the  establishment  of  Pembroke  College,  Oxford,  at  that 
time  (1624)  Chancellor  of  the  University,  whose  successor,  Philip 
Earl  of  Pembreke,  was  one  of  the  lords,  joined  with  the  ministers, 
in  the  Assembly  of  Divines  held  at  Westminster  in  1643.  There 
is  a  second  dedication  to  Henry  Earl  of  Manchester,  Viscount  Man- 
deville,  whose  successor,  Edward  Earl  of  Manchester,  probably  his 
son,  was  likewise  one  of  the  lords  in  the  Westminster  Assembly, 
and  one  of  the  distinguished  moderate  Presbyterian  leaders  in  the 
Parliamentary  army.  He  was  accused  by  Charles  I.  of  high  trea- 
son, with  the  five  members  of  the  House  of  Commons.  After  the 
battle  of  Newbury,  his  party  suspected  him  of  a  leaning  towards 
the  King.  He  favoured  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.,  and  was 
chamberlain  of  the  household  to  that  monarch. — From  these  dedi- 
cations, it  appears  that  some  of  the  sermons  had  been  severally  pa- 
tronized by  these  noblemen ;  and  to  the  Earl  of  Manchester  he 
says  : — "  At  the  preaching  of  these  thoughts,  I  was  bound  to  your 
lordship  for  your  favourable  car  ;  in  the  publishing  of  them,  to  your 
favourable  eye  ;  and  now,  a  third  obligation  you  may  lay  upon  me, 
by  your  lordship's  kind  re-acceptance." 

The  dedications  are  followed  by  an  address  "  To  my  dearly  be- 
loved charge,  the  parishioners  of  Saint  Bennett's,  near  to  Saint  Paul's 
Wharf,  London ;"  in  which  he  says — "  I  well  know  the  burden 
of  preaching  in  this  city.  We  may  say  of  it,  in  another  sense,  as 
Christ  said  of  Jerusalem,  0  thou  that  killest  the  prophets  !  Many 
a  minister  comes  to  a  parish  with  his  veins  full  of  blood,  his  bones 
of  marrow  ;  but  how  soon  doth  he  exhaust  his  spirits,  waste  his 
vigour  !  and  albeit  there  are  many  good  souls  for  whose  sake  he  is 


xii  ixtro:)u:tion-  to  ada-is'  wonss. 

cimtcnt  to  iiialic  himself  a  sacri  lci',  ypt  thtrc  are  .some  so  unmerci- 
ful that,  after  all  his  lahmirs,  woiil'l  sr u  l  liini  a  beggar  to  his  pravc. 
I  tell  you  but  the  faults  of  somr.    To  you  I  am  thankful." 

"  To  the  candid  and  ingenious  reader,"  he  says,  "  I  cannot  but 
take  notice,  that  much  injury  hath  been  done  to  the  buyers  of  such 
great  books  by  new  editions,  so  that,  by  the  swelling  of  the  later 
impressions,  the  former  are  esteemed  imjierfect.  lie  satisEcd  and 
assured  that  to  this  volume  nothiii-  shall  ever  l)c  added.  If  the 
Lord  enable  me  to  brinf;  forth  nny  other  work  of  better  use  to  I  lis 
church,  it  shall  be  published  by  itself,  .ind  never  prejudice  this. 
.  .  .  .  I  hear  of  some  idle  drones  humming  out  their  dry 
derisions,  that  we  (forsooth)  affect  to  be  men  in  print ;  as  if  that 
were  the  only  end  of  these  publications.  Hut  let  the  communica- 
tion of  goodness  stop  their  mouths.  Speech  is  only  for  presence, 
writings  have  their  use  in  absence.  Q>io  lirent  Itbrif,  non  licet  ire 
rnihi: — Our  books  may  come  to  be  seen,  where  ourselves  shall 
never  be  heard.  These  n:ay  preach  when  the  author  cannot,  and 
(which  is  more)  when  he  is  not.  The  glory  be  only  to  Ood,  the 
comfort  to  your  souls  and  mine  ;  with  which  prayer,  I  leave  you  to 
Him  that  never  leaveth  his." 

The  Sermons  and  Treatises  are  sixty-three  in  number,  of  whicli 
the  last  is  entitled  "The  Soldier's  Ilounur;  "  from  Judges  v.  8,  9. 
"  They  chose  new  rjnds ;  then  livr.s  tnir  in  the  rjntes :  iras  there  a 
shield  or  fprar  srcn  <i)ii(tr(/  f-irlij  thoiisaiirl  in  Isriiel  f  My  heart  is 
toward  the  governors  o  flsrm  /,  that  offered themsdres  u-illinglij  air.oiig 
the  people.  Bless  ye  t  lie  Lord."  It  was  preached  "to  the  worthy 
company  of  gentlemen  that  exercise  in  the  Artillery  Garden ;  and 
now  at  their  second  request,  iiublished  tn  further  use,  1629." 

Another  of  these  sermons,  in  Whiteh.iU,  "  being  the  first  Tuesday 
after  the  departure  of  King  James  into  blessedness,  1G25,"  is  en- 
titled "  The  Sinner's  Alourning  Hal)it,''from  the  words,  "  Il7iCyr/i)rc, 
/  abhor  mysel/^  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes ;  "  in  which  tlie  only 
allusion  (and  that  scarcely  obvious)  to  the  departed  monarch  is 
in  the  iirst  sentence  : — "  This  is  in  many  dear  regards  a  mourning 
and  penitential  season  ;  therefore  I  thought  it  best  to  accommodate 
it  with  a  penitential  sermon."  It  is  a  touching  discourse,  abound- 
ing in  passages  of  great  brightness,  of  which  we  give  a  specimen. 

"  If  I  should  give  you  the  picture  of  Kepentauce,  I  woidd  tell 
you  that  she  is  a  virgin  fair  and  lovely ;  and  those  tears  which  seem 
to  do  violence  to  her  bea.ity,  rather,  indeed,  grace  it.  Her  breost 
is  sore  with  the  strol<es  of  her  own  jicnitent  hands,  which  are  always 
cither  in  Moses'  position  on  the  mo.int,  lifted  up  tuwar  Is  heaven, 


IXTROUUCTIOX  TO  ADAMS'  WOKKF!.  xill 
or  the  publican  s  in  tli«  temple,  smilinri  her  /losoni.    Iler  knees  are 
hardened  with  constant  prav)!!'.' ;  l.'i  r  voice  is  ho:irso  with  calling  to 
Iieaven :  and  when  slie  eannc)t  spea;;.  ,^hc  delivers  her  nniiil  in 
crro.ins.    There  is  not  a  tear  tails  trom  hvr.  hut  an  anL'el  linl.is  a 
bottle  to  catch  it.    bhc  thinks  cverv  man  s  sm  less  than  her  oivn  : 
evcrv  mansgood  deeds  more.     Jler  e(H!i]iinirt;oiis  are  iiiisiir::k,i]ile. 
known  only  to  God  and  to  hnsi  l..  eouid  wish,  not  onlv  incn. 

but  even  beasts,  and  trees,  an  1  stones,  to  nioiirn  with  lier.  .-^Iio 
th  nks  ill  1 
that  thr  !,1,  •  :  I       ,  I   ,■    ,1  I  ......        ;.  .  ,  ,  ,.,,„■,. lied. 

JI  ro 

with  tl  11111/  I  rn 

Ihj  t  I      —  li       hi  111  t  11   h  r  tl   t    he  1  at 

ccpted  in  Jesus  (  hnsr. 

I  1(  I  1  h  1  \1  1  1  I  I  ^  s  tat  n  non  m  f  hi  st 
Cliiireh,  at  the  triennial  visitation  ol'  the  Risht  lleverend  Father  in 
God.  the  Lord  Bishop  of  L.mdon  :  in  winch  he  maintains,  thon-h 
with  little  if  any  controversial  ar^mnont,  the  episcopal  form  of 
church  government,  makiiia-  a  wretehdl  distiiietu/ii  hetwei^n  si'ers, 
winch  signifies,  •■the  duty  ol  each  pastor  over  his  dock.  ■  and  orc;'- 
seers.  such  as  "  must  visit  and  overlook  both  flock  and  seers  :  ■  and 
adverting  contemptiionslv  to  parity  in  covcrnment.  as  --the  mother 
of  confusion  and  disorder,  '  ami  to  "those  that  would  be  priests 
without  any  order  at  all.  that  refuse  to  be  ordered.  l!;it  he  sharply 
rebukes  the  prelates,  who  "lorded  over  («ods  heritage. 

"  Paul  and  Barnabas.  Pont  was  a  man  ol  ardent  zeal.  Bar- 
nabas IS  interpreted  'the  son  of  r^jnxulation.'  Paul  would  have 
Barnabas  along  with  hnn.  that  the  lenity  ol  the  one  mieht  some- 
what mitisrate  and  qualify  the  fervour  of  the  other.  Thus.  Mosrs 
was  with  J'Jias.  when  they  both  met  with  Christ  transfiiriired  on 
the  mount,  Klias  was  a  licry  spirited  pronliet,  mflaaied  with  holy 
zcil :  Moses,  a  prophet  ot  a  meeic  and  mild  sinrit.  These  two 
together  are  fit  servants  to  wait  upon  tno  !>on  oi  God.  I  do  not 
say  that  either  Paul  wanted  compa.ssion,  or  Barnabas  fervency  ;  but 
this  I  say.  that  both  these  tempers  are  a  liappy  composition  m  a 
visiter,  and  make  his  breast  to  lie  the  sacred  ark.  wherein  lay  both 
Aaron  s  rod  and  the  golden  pot  of  manna:  the  rod  of  correction, 
and  the  mannix  of  consolation :  the  one  corrosive,  the  other  a 
cordial,  (spiritual  fathers  should  be  liKC  natural  mothers,  that  have 
both  ubern  and  ve.rheni :  or  like  lices.  liavin<r  much  honey,  but  not 
without  a  stinsr.  Only  let  the  stm?-  be  the  least  in  their  desire  or 
mtention.  and  the  List  m  execution  : — hke  God  himsell,  '  Qui  ha'jcl 


xiv  INTEODUCTION  TO  ADAMs'  WOBKS. 

in  jmleslate  vindictam.,  sed  marult  in  usu  inisericordiam'  (strong  to 
avenge,  but  loving  to  shew  incrcv). 

"  There  have  been  sonic  who  did  pnt  lime  and  gall  into  the  milk  : 
yi:a.  mimAti-rcd  pro  hcte  vc/ifnum  (poison  instead  of  railU)  ;  Banners 
and  (iardiiicrs,  that  gave  too  sliarp  physic  for  the  dispcsition  of  their 
patients. 

"That,  as  the  Antioohians  said  of  Julian  (taking  occasif*i  br  the 
Bull  which  he  stamped  on  his  coin),  have  gored  the  world  to 
death.  That,  as  if  they  had  Suul' s  commUsion  to  vex  the  Church 
of  Clirist,  have  ccpiicliidcd  their  visitations  in  blood. 

"  I!ut  mercy,  ii.)  Icis  than  holiness,  becomes  the  brcastjilate  of 
Aaron." 

The  following  passage,  few  of  our  readers  will  refuse  to  acknow- 
ledge, savours  more  of  the  cliurchman  in  the  days  of  Laud,  than 
can  find  favour  with  men  of  better  times,  and  of  a  better  spirit. 

"  I  deny  not  the  necessity  of  jurisdiction,  both  corrective  and  co- 
active,  tbe  one  restraining  where  is  too  much  forwardness,  the  other 
enfiireing  where  is  slackness.  There  is  a  rod,  and  there  is  a 
sword. "  * 

The  Puritans  of  the  Church  of  England,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  were  of  two  classes,  the  conforming  and  the 
non-conforming.  The  first  class  were  those  who  conformed  to  the 
laws  and  usages  of  the  Church,  as  enforced  under  the  authority  of 
James  the  First,  by  the  wily  and  intolerant  Archbishop  Bancroft. 
Their  Puritanism  concerned  points  of  doctrine,  adhering  to  the  Cal- 
vinism of  the  Reformers,  in  opposition  to  the  Popery  encouraged  by 
the  Queen  of  Charles  the  First,  and  to  the  Arminianism  of  Land, 
who,  in  a  treatise  drawn  up  for  his  patron,  the  Duke  of  Buckingham, 
attempted  to  prove  that  Arminianism  was  orthodox,  and  that  the 
Anti-arminian  tenets  were  no  better  than  JJoctrina/  Puritanism. 

The  Calvinistic  divines  were  favoured  by  James  until  after  the 
Synod  of  Port.  But  the  Court  clergy  were  distinguished  soon  after- 
wards for  their  Arminianism  ;  and  all  the  preachers  who  adhered  to 
the  earlier  theology  of  the  Reformers,  and  to  the  earlier  theology  of 
the  monarch  himself,  were  branded  by  the  name  of  Doctrinal  Pu- 
ritans. To  this  class  belonged  the  writer  of  the  following  dis 
courses.  Excepting  in  his  published  works,  we  find  no  trace  of  him. 
He  appears  to  have  taken  no  degree.  We  find  no  references  to  him 
in  the  Athena;  Oxonienses,  or  in  any  other  of  the  records  of  th'ise 
times.    The  dates  of  several  of  these  discourses  show  that  he  was  a 


•  Visitation  Sermon. 


IXTRonUtTION  TO  /.dams'  IVOUKK.  XV 
]nil)lic  preacher  at  the  l)eginninj;  of  the  reisii  of  James  the  First, 
and  that  in  his  youth  he  was  the  conteinporary  of  the  great  men 
that  atlomcd  the  close  of  Elizabeth's  reifcii.  During  his  life,  .some 
of  the  most  reniarkahle  events  in  the  history  of  Europe  oeeurreil, 
and  not  a  few  of  those  steps  were  taken  in  this  country  ivhieh  have 
been  followed  by  consequences  of  deep  moment,  both  in  the  slate 
and  in  the  church. 

Henry  the  Fourth  of  France  had  professed  tlie  Catholic  faith,  M  liile 
he  cherished  an  ardent  and  enlightened  regard  for  the  Protestants 
of  France,  GermaRy,  Holland,  and  Great  Britain  ;  maintained  a  close 
alliance  with  England  ;  encouraged  Casauljon,  Scaliger,  Tluianus, 
and  other  eminent  scholars  ;  and,  by  the  vigour  of  his  government 
under  the  administration  of  Sully,  won  for  himself  the  gratitude  of 
his  subjects,  the  admiration  of  Europe,  and  the  hatred  of  the  Catholic 
League.  Holland  had  asserted  her  independence.  In  England, 
the  Parliament  had  been  providentially  saved  from  the  gunpowder 
plot.  The  sagacious  Cecil  had  died  in  the  midst  of  the  difficulties 
accumulating  around  his  sovereign.  The  king  and  the  nation  were 
engaged  in  an  earnest  struggle  for  tyranny  on  the  <jne  hand,  and  for 
freedom  on  the  other.  Haleigh  had  ended  his  bold  romantic  ad- 
ventures, and  his  wearisome  imprisonment,  on  the  scafi'old.  The 
Church  of  Scotland  had  resisted  the  Ejiiseopacy  attempted  to 
be  imposed  upon  her  by  the  king.  Large  portions  of  the 
clergy  and  laity  of  England  were  weaned  from  the  Established 
Church ;  and  new  parties  arose  which  have  flourished  ever  since. 
The  translation  of  the  Bible ;  the  colonization  of  New  Ply- 
mouth by  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  ;  the  Hampton  Court  Conference  ; 
the  extended  jurisdiction  of  the  High  Commission  Court,  the  fall 
of  Lord  Bacon,  the  execution  of  Strafford,  and  the  breaking  out  of 
the  Civil  War — all  passed  on  the  stage  of  pubhc  affairs,  while 
Thomas  Adams  was  quietly  meditating  and  delivering  these  dis- 
courses. He  was  junior  to  Bishop  Hall,  some  of  whose  writings 
he  quotes,  and  wdiom,  in  many  respects,  he  resembles  :  in  both  ^ve 
have  the  same  varied  learning,  somewhat  ostentatiously  displayed  ; 
the  same  fondness  for  antithesis  and  quaint  conceits  ;  the  same  rich- 
ness of  Scriptural  illustration  ;  the  same  pungency  and  pathos  in 
appealing  to  the  conscience  and  the  affections  ;  the  same  fervour  of 
piety  and  soundness  of  doctrine,  in  an  age  of  "  negligence  and  disor- 
d:rJy  courses."  Adams  was  contemporary  with  Sibbs,  the  admirable 
author  of  the  "  Bruised  Reed"  and  the  "  Soul's  Conflict,"  and  of  other 
>vorks  pnblislied  from  notes  taken  as  he  preached,  whose  writings 
were  useful  in  leading  Baxter  to  behold  the  love  of  God  in  the 


xvi  ixxnonucTioN  to  adams'  works. 

redemption  by  Clirist  ;  :i  little  later  than  Arminius,  Whitgift, 
Cartwriglit,  anrl  lIiM.krr, — nil  of  whcin  died  a  few  years  before  tbc 
first  of  tlio  jiul  llslud  s-vMiniis  (  f  A<1aiiis;  and  a  little  earlier  tl;an 
Ilanmioiia.  !';ir.M-,v,  \\]vr,  I'axf'-r,  a:;.-l  Jeremy  Tajdor.  It  is 
imioh  to  lir  r; --r:  ttr.l  liint  Iiave  iM't  materials  for  judging  how 
far  Ada:iis  \va^  n^s'u  iat-l  with  ntiy  of  tliesc  remarkable  dirinep,  in 
what  degree  he  syiniiathize  1  with  them,  or  what  influence  he  may 
have  derived  fr.im  those  who  prei  cdcd  liim,  or  imparted  to  those 
who  followed  him.  AVith  all  of  tl'.eni  he  a.srccd  in  his  opposition 
to  IVr.irry.  l"roM,  so,,.,'  .,f  ihcp.i  l.p  dilTrr.'d  on  imints  of  doetrine— 
from  llarri.w's  ni'.iniaiiism,  from  Taylor's  I'clairlanism,  and  from 
]!axtrr's  rrcsliyti'riaiiism.  In;'.  rlor  to  Hooker  in  the  fulness  and 
majesty  of  his  eloquence,  and  to  I'axter  in  the  keenness  of  liis  logic, 
the  comprehensiveness  of  his  theologj-,  and  especially  in  the 
burning  power  and  jdainness  of  his  language  ;  he  may  be  fitly  com- 
pared to  L'an-QW  in  th.e  thoroughness  which  exhausts  his  subjects, 
and  to  Taylor,  as  we  have  formerly  hinted,  in  the  poetic  splendour 
of  his  imagery  ;  though  he  is  preatly  c-xeelled  by  both  in  different 
respects — by  Barrr.\v,  in  the  steady  flow  of  calm  reasoning,  and  by 
Taylor,  in  the  exitberanf-e  of  his  learning  and  the  graceful  ease 
with  whieli  he  pours  out  his  ever-charming  illustrations.  At  tlie 
time — in  the  very  year — in  wl-.ich  Adams  published  the  collection  of 
his  works,  Dr  Davenant,  bishop  of  Salisbury,  lost  favour  at  Court, 
for  preaching  the  doctrine  of  predestination,  stated  in  the  seven- 
teenth article  of  the  Church  of  England  ;  and,  for  the  same  offence, 
several  clcrgA-men  were  severrly  piniished.  During  the  same 
year,  Leighton  was  finf>d  ten  tlionsand  pounds,  whipped,  jiilloried, 
lost  his  cars,  had  his  nose  slit,  was  branded  on  the  face  as  a  sower 
of  sedition,  and  imprisoned  for  life,  for  a  rude  and  vehement  attack 
upon  the  bishops.  That  .same  year,  too.  Laud  was  introducing  into 
the  churches  of  London,  Lambeth,  and  both  the  Universities, 
the  Popish  ceremonies ;  for  preaching  against  which,  as  well  as 
against  Arminianism,  several  clergymen  were  driven  from  Oxford. 
Amid  those  stirring  movements,  it  is  somewhat  provoking  that  we 
have  no  clue  to  the  part  taken  by  our  worthy  divine.  It  is  not 
unlikely  that  he  belonged  to  a  numerous  class  of  men,  wdio  in  that 
age,  as  indeed  in  all  ages,  quietly  pursued  the  duties  of  their  calling, 
conforming  in  outward  things  to  the  Establishment,  and  yet  preach- 
ing doctrines  directly  opposed  to  the  Court  divinity.  Of  King 
James  he  speaks  in  his  sermons  in  the  strain  of  flattery  which 
abounded  in  those  days,  and  from  which  no  parties  were  exempt, 
lie  complains,  as  wc  have  seen,  of  the  ravages  made  upon  the  liv- 


INTRODUCTION  TO  AUAMS'  WOKKS.  Xvil 

ings  of  the  clergy.  He  denoimces  the  vices  of  the.  asc  Some  of 
his  sermons  were  at  Paul's  Cross,  one  at  Whitehall,  one  at  a  visi- 
tation, one  at  the  election  of  Lord  Mayor  of  London.  He  was  at 
one  time  the  minister  of  St  Gregory's  t'hurch,  near  St  Paul's, 
which,  in  1633,  was  the  scene  of  a  violent  disimte  between  the 
parishioners  and  the  Dean  and  Chapter  of  St  Paul's,  aliiuit  tiiniinc; 
the  communion  table,  in  tlio  middle  of  the  chureb,  into  an  altar 
at  the  upper  end.  In  1030,  the  year  in  which  Adams' cull.  i  t.  :1 
works  were  published,  tliat  church  was  pulled  do\\  n  to  make  r...ii!i 
for  the  improvements  which  BisliopLaud  was  makini;  in  St  Paul's. 
As  Adams  was  announced  as  rector  of  St  Gregory's  in  a  work 
published  three  years  after,  it  is  probable  that  he  retained  bis  title 
after  tlie  congregation  had  been  transferred  to  Christ  Church,  wliero 
he  preached  his  visitation  sermon,  unless  there  was  another  church 
with  the  same  designation.  All  these  facts  prove  him  to  have  been 
rich  in  those  endowments  wbirb  have  been  honoured  by  every  church 
in  every  age,  ivhiletln'  stylr  nf  liis  dedicatinns  indieates  that  he  lived 
in  friendship  with  persons  ufliiub  station  in  the  enini'ry.  That  he  was 
a  firm  opponent  of  Popery  is  mai;i:Vst  in  every  part  of  Iiis  writings, 
especially  in  his  treatise  on  the  "  Happiness  i,(  the  (.'hurcb."  Let 
this  pungent  pa5S.age  from  a  won  lerl'ul  iierfor.nanfc,  entitled  "  The 
Wiite  Devil,"  suffice  : — '•  Put  1  am  to  deal  wltli  m.ne  but  tliieves, 
and  those  private  ones:  and  because  Judas  is  thi>  i  rci  '  deuf,  I  will 
begin  with  him  that  is  most  like  him.  Aeenrdiii-  tn  the  jirovcrb 
which  the  Grecians  had  of  Philo-Juda;ns,  '  Killi.  r  I'/nlo  followed 
Philo,  <„■  Phih)  iiuiliifc'l  Plat,,.'  Let  me  oidy  cliauge  the  names  : 
either  Jiidas  plaiicd  the  Pope,  or  the  Pope  platjs  the  Jndtif.  This  is 
the  most  subtle  thief  in  the  world,  and  robs  all  Christendom  with  a 
good  colour.  Who  can  say  he  hath  a  black  eye,  or  a  light  finger? 
for  experience  hath  taught  him,  tliat,  cvi  pellis  leoiiis  nnn  siifficif, 
viilpiiM  est  assuenda ;  when  the  lion's  skin  cannot  threat,  the  fox's 
.skin  can  cheat.  Pope  Alexander  was  a  beast,  that,  having  entered 
like  a  /or,  he  must  needs  raigne  like  a  lion  ;  worthy  he  was  to  die 
like  a  dog  ;  for  vis  vonxilli  expers,  mule  rtiit  sua  ;  power  without 
policy,  is  lilte  a  piece  without  powder.  Many  a  jmpe  sings  that 
connnon  ballad  of  hell  : — Iii'jenio  peril  qui  miser  ipse  men  ; — Wit, 
whitlier  wilt  thou '.'  woe  is  nie  !  my  wit  hatli  wrought  my  misery ! 
To  say  truth,  their  religion  is  nothing  in  the  circumstance,  but  craft ; 
and  policy  maintains  their  hierarchy  ;  as  Judas'  subtlety  made  him 
rich.  Judas  was  put  in  trust  with  a  groat  deal  of  the  devil's  business, 
yet  not  worse  than  the  Pope.  Judas  pretended  to  serve  the  ])oor, 
and  robbed  them  ;  and  doth  not  the  Pope,  think  you  ?  Are  there 
no  alms-boxes  rifled  and  emptied  into  the  Pope's  treasury  ?    Oi  r 


Xviii  INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS. 

fathers  say  that  the  poor  gave  Peter-pence  to  the  Pope ;  but  our 
grandfathers  cannot  tell  us  that  the  Pope  gave  Caesar-pence  to  the 
poor.  Did  not  he  sit  in  the  holy  chair  (as  Augustus  Caesar  on  his 
imperial  throne) ,  and  cause  the  whole  Christian  world  to  be  taxed  ? 
And  what  ?  did  they  freely  give  it  ?  No ;  a  taxation  forced  it. 
What  right,  then,  had  the  Pope  to  it?  Just  as  much  as  Judas 
had  to  his  Master's  money.  Was  he  not,  then,  a  thief?  Yet  what 
need  a  rich  man  be  a  thief?  The  Pope  is  rich,  and  needs  must,  for 
his  eomings-in,  be  great : — he  hath  rent  out  of  heaven,  rent  out  of 
hell,  rent  out  of  purgatory ;  but  more  sacks  come  to  his  mill  out  of 
purgatory  than  out  of  heaven  and  hell  too,  and  for  his  tolling,  let 
the  world  judge.  'Therefore,'  saith  Bishop  Jewel,  '/le  tcould  he 
content  to  lose  hell  and  heaven  too,  to  save  his  puryatory.'  Some, 
by  pardons,  he  prevents  from  hell,— some,  by  indulgences,  he  lifts 
up  to  heaven, — and  infinite,  by  ransoms,  from  purgator)-.  Not  a 
jot  without  money.  Cruces,  altaria,  Christum.  He  sells  Christ's 
cross — Christ's  blood — Clirist's  self;  all  for  money.  Nay,  he  hath 
rent  from  the  very  stews,  a  hell  above  ground,  and  swells  his  coffers 
by  the  sins  of  the  people  :  he  suffers  a  price  to  be  set  on  damnation  ; 
and  maintains  lust  to  go  to  law  for  her  own ;  gives  whoredom  a 
toleration  under  his  seal ;  that  hist,  the  son  of  idleness,  hath  free 
access  to  liberty,  the  daughter  of  pride. 

"Judas  was  a  great  statesman  in  the  devil's  commonwealth,  for  he 
bore  four  main  offices, — either  he  begged  them  shamefully,  or  he 
bought  them  brlbingly,  or  else  Beelzebub  saw  desert  in  him,  and 
gave  him  them  gratis,  for  his  good  parts  ;  for  Judas  was  his  white- 
boy;  he  was,  1.  An  hypocrite  ;  2.  A  thief;  3.  A  traitor;  4.  A  mur- 
derer. Yet  the  Pope  shall  vie  offices  with  him,  and  win  the  game 
too,  for  plurality.  The  Pope  sits  in  the  holy  chair,  yet  a  devil. 
Perjury,  sodomy,  sorcery,  homicide,  parricide,  patricide,  treason, 
murder,  &c.,  are  essential  things  to  the  new  papacy.  He  is  not 
content  to  be  steward,  but  he  must  be  vicar,  nay,  indeed,  lord  him- 
self;— for  what  can  Christ  do,  and  the  Pope  cannot  do?  Judas  was 
nobody  to  him.  He  hath  stolen  Truth's  garment,  and  put  it  on 
Error's  back,  turning  poor  Truth  naked  out  of  doors.  He  hath 
altered  the  primitive  institutions,  and  adulterated  God's  sacred  laws. 
He  steals  the  hearts  of  subjects  from  their  sovereigns,  by  stealing 
fidelity  from  the  hearts  of  subjects,  and  would  steal  the  crown  from 
the  king's  head ;  and  all  under  the  shadow  of  religion.  This  is  a 
thief — a  notalilc,  notorious  thief ;  but  let  him  go.  I  hope  he  is 
known  well  enough,  and  every  true  man  will  bless  himself  out  of 
his  way." 

As  to  his  doctrinal  theology,  Adams  w.ts  clearly  a  Calvinist,  a.s 


INTUODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS.  xix 

will  appear  in  the  following  extract : — "  The  first  born,  which  are 
written  in  heaven.  Tliis  is  a  description  of  the  persons  of  whom 
the  Church  consists.  The  Church  itself  is  a  number  of  men  which 
God  hath  set  apart  by  an  eternal  decree,  and  in  time  sanctified  to 
become  real  members  of  it.  They  are  written  in  heaven  ;  there's 
their  eternal  election  ;  and  they  are  the  first-born,  that  is,  ?ieii'-born  ; 
there's  their  sanctification.  For  the  two  parts  of  the  description, 
their  primogeniture,  and  registering  in  God's  books,  are  but  bor- 
rowed speeches  whereby  God  would  ratify  the  everlasting  predesti- 
nation and  salvation  of  his  Church;  that,  as  the  first-born  is  not  to 
be  defeated  of  his  inheritance,  and  the  enrolled  names  are  never  to 
be  obliterated,  so  certainly  shall  they  inherit  eternal  life.  They  are 
called,  and  called  out  of  the  world.  Many  wicked  are  created  before 
them,  but  thej'  are  elected  in  God's  decree  to  life  before  the  other ; 
for  the  wicked  are  not  chosen  at  all.  The  book  of  life  itself,  where- 
in only  arc  written  the  names  of  the  elect,  whom  God  hath  ordained 
to  salvation  for  ever.  None  written  in  heaven  can  ever  be  lost ; 
yet  they  object  against  it.  Psalm  Ixix.  28,  Let  them  be  blotted  nut 
of  the  book  of  the  living,  and  let  them  not  be  ivrittcn  amom/  the 
righteous.  Hence  they  infer  that  some  names  once  there  recorded 
are  afterwards  put  out ;  but  this  opinion  casteth  a  double  aspersion 
upon  God  himself.  Either  it  makes  him  ignorant  of  future  things, 
as  if  he  foresaw  not  the  end  of  the  elect  and  reprobate,  and  so  were 
deceived  in  decreeing  some  to  be  saved  ;  or  that  his  decree  is  mu- 
table, in  excluding  those  upon  their  sins  whom  ho  hath  formerly 
chosen.  From  both  these  weaknesses  St  Paul  vindicates  him :  2 
Tim.  ii.  19,  The  foundation  of  God  standeth  sure,  having  this  seal: 
'  The  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  his.'  First,  The  Lord  knows 
them  that  are  his ;  this  were  not  true  if  God's  prescience  could  be 
deluded.  Then,  his  foundation  stands  sure:  but  that  were  no  sure 
foundation,  if  those  he  had  decreed  to  be  his  should  afterwards  fall 
out  not  to  be  his.  The  very  conclusion  of  truth  is  this ;  Lnpossi- 
bilis  est  delatio — they  which  are  written  in  heaven  can  never  come 
into  hell.  To  clear  this  from  the  opposed  doubt  among  many,  I 
will  cull  out  three  proper  distinctions. 

"  1.  One  may  be  said  to  be  written  in  heaven  simpliciter,  and  se- 
cundum quid — he  that  is  simply  written  there.  In  quantum  pra'des- 
tinatus  ad  vitam — because  elected  to  life  can  never  be  blotted  out. 
He  that  is  but  written  after  a  sort  may  ;  for  he  is  written,  Non  se- 
cundum Dei  prcBscientiam,  sed  secundum  proRserifem  justitiam — not 
according  to  God's  former  decree,  but  according  to  his  present 
righteousness.    So  they  are  said  to  be  blotted  out,  not  in  respect  of 


XX  I.\-n;ol.L-rT|(JN  T)  ADA.\;s'  WUEKS. 

God's  knawlc(l,i,'p,  for  In-  1  iim\ss  th.  y  w,  rc  never  written  there  ;  bnt 
accorJing  to  tlieir  iire^'iit  i  .ii,,liti.,i,,  apostatizing  from  grace  to  sin. 

"  2.  iScnic  are  lilutto'l  out,  /kui  ••>  riiinhn)i  rei  I'crlfafcm,  t>cd  livminum 
fipiiiiuiioii — not  acronliii;!,'  to  tlie  trutli  of  the  thing,  but  according  to 
men's  opinion.  It  i-  nsel'ul  |usnal]  in  the  Scriptures  to  say  a  thing 
is  donr,  iiiiiukIi)  iniint.'sint  jii-ri,  wlien  it  is  declared  to  he  done. 
Hj-pocrites  liave  a  simulation  of  outward  sanctity,  so  that  men  in 
charity  judge  them  to  be  written  in  heaven.  But  when  those  glister- 
ing stars  appear  to  be  only  ii/)ics  fiitui,  foolish  meteors,  and  fall  down 
from  the  Hrmament  of  the  C'luiri  h,  then  we  say  they  are  blotted  out. 
The  written  e.r-cj/a/e;/^';/,  by  a  perfect  being,  are  never  lost;  but 
eX'Opp'in  nttii^  l:y  a  dissenibled  appearance,  may.  Some,  God  so 
writes,  in  «■  ut  iimji/irifer  Iiiihiliu  i  i-ilaiii,  that  they  liave  life  simply 
ill  themselves,  though  not  o/' themselves.  Others,  he  so  writes,  vt 
liabcdut  null  in  ."r,  fed  in  swi  a.'i.sa,  from  which  falling,  they  are  said 
to  be  obliterated. 

"  o.  .Vngiistiiie  says,  we  must  not  so  take  it,  that  God  writes  first 
and  then  daslietb  out ;  f"r.  if  a  Tilate  could  say,  Quod sa  i/isi,  scripsi ; 
what  I  have  written,  1  have  written,  and  it  shall  stand;  shall  God 
say,  (liioil  srripsi,  c.r/nuir/dni  ;  what  I  have  written,  I  will  wipe  out, 
and  it  shall  iwl  stand  V 

"  To  eonelr.de,  they  that  are  u-ril/cn  in  hcarcn  can  never  be  lost. 
Woe,  then,  to  that  religion  which  teacheth  even  the  best  saint  to 
doubt  of  his  salvation  while  he  livetli.  llath  Christ  said,  Believe, 
and  shall  man  say,  Uc  i;lit  'J'his  is  a  rack  and  strappado  to  the  con- 
seienee  ;  f'r  he  that  doubteth  fif  his  salvation,  doubteth  of  God's 
love  ;  and  In;  tliat  doubteth  of  God's  love,  cannot  heartily  love  him 
a.uain.  If  this  love  he  wanting,  it  is  not  possible  to  have  true  peace. 
U  the  terrors  of  this  triiuhled  couseien'ee  !  It  is  like  an  ague  ;  it 
may  have  intermission,  Ijut  the  fit  will  come  and  shake  him.  An 
unto^^•^rd  beast  is  a  troiil  le  to  a  man  ;  an  unt<iward  servant  is  a 
great  trouble  ;  an  untoi\  ard  wife  a  greater  trouble  ;  but  the  greatest 
trouble  of  all  is  an  nnti  ward  conscience.  Biexscd  is  the  man  whose 
sins  are  f'irgivcn  ;  where  there  is  no  remission  of  sins,  there  is  no 
blessedness.  Now,  there  is  ro  true  blessedness  but  that  which  is 
enjoyed  ;  and  none  is  enjoyed  mili  ss  it  be  felt  ;  and  it  cannot  be  felt 
unless  it  be  ]iossess<'d  ;  :a\'.\  it  is  not  ji.  ssessed  unless  a  man  know  it ; 
and  how  does  he  know  it  that  dou!  ts  whether  he  hath  it  or  not? 

"  All  souls  are  passeng(  rs  iti  tliis  workl ;  our  way  is  in  the  middle 
of  the  sea  :  we  ha\  e  no  sure  footing  :  which  way  soever  we  cast  our 
eyes,  we  see  nothing  but  deep  waters,  tlie  Devil  and  our  own  flesh 
raising  up  against  us  ini:nite  stcrms.    God  directs  us  to  Christ  as 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WOliKS.  Xxi 

to  a  sure  anchor-hold ;  he  bids  us  undo  our  cables,  and  fling  up  our 
anchors  in  the  vail,  fasten  them  upon  Josus  :  we  do  so  and  are  safe. 
But  a  sister  of  ours  passing  in  the  ship  with  us,  that  hath  long 
taken  upon  her  to  rule  the  helm,  deals  unkindly  with  us :  she  cuts 
in  pieces  our  cables,  throws  away  our  anchors,  and  tells  us  we  may 
not  presume  to  fasten  them  on  the  Rock,  our  Mediator.  She 
rows  and  rowls  us  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  through  the  greatest 
fogs,  and  fearfullest  tempests  :  if  we  follow  her  course,  we  must 
look  for  inevitable  shipwreck.  Tlie  least  flaw  of  wind  will  overturn 
us,  and  sink  our  souls  to  the  lowest  gulf. — No,  they  that  arc  ivrit- 
teu  in  the  eternal  leaves  of  heaven,  shall  never  be  wrapped  in  the 
cloudy  sheets  of  darkness.  A  man  may  have  his  name  written  in 
the  chronicles,  yet  lost ;  written  in  durable  marble,  yet  perish ; 
written  on  a  monument  equal  to  a  colossus,  yet  be  ignominious ; 
written  on  the  hospital  gates,  yet  go  to  hell ;  written  on  his  own 
house,  yet  another  come  to  possess  it.  All  these  are  but  writings 
in  the  dust,  or  upon  the  waters,  where  the  characters  perish  so  soon 
as  they  are  made .  They  no  more  prove  a  man  happy  than  the  fool 
could  prove  Pontius  Pilate  a  saint,  because  his  name  was  written 
in  the  Creed.  But  they  that  are  written  in  heaven,  are  sure  to  in- 
herit it."  • 

His  "  Meditations  on  some  Parts  of  the  Creed"  extend  over  more 
than  a  hundred  and  fifty  closely  printed  folio  pages.  They  are 
not  included  in  the  Selections  announced  for  the  present  .series. 
They  are  rich  in  solid  thought,  deep  learning,  scriptural  and  spiri- 
tual theology,  e.xpcrinicntal  piety,  practical  wisdom,  expressed  with 
great  force  of  language,  and  enlivened  Ijy  an  inexhaustible  fertility 
of  ingenious,  happy,  and  sometimes  highly  poetical  illustration. 
These,  indeed,  are  the  characteristics  of  all  his  writings.  But  one 
feature  of  them,  which  to  some  readers  may  wear  the  appearance  of 
tediousness,  is  so  important,  and  so  suggestive,  both  to  ministers, 
as  teachers,  and  to  all  Christians,  as  learners  of  divine  truth,  that 
we  cannot  allow  it  to  pass  without  special  observation.  We  refer  now 
to  the  strictlij  expository  form  of  these  discourses.  The  author  leads 
the  reader,  at  once,  to  the  Bilde.  lie  keeps  him  there.  He  analyses 
the  words  of  the  passage  under  consideration.  He  largely  illus- 
trates the  historical  circumstances.  He  dr.iws  by  easy  and  natural 
inference,  suitable  lessons  of  a  i)ractical  character.  Analogies 
.start  up :  these  are  instantly  dealt  with.  Fables,  anecdotes,  clas- 
sical poetry,  gems  from  the  Fathers  and  other  old  writers,  are 


•  Tlic  Happiness  of  the  Cliurih.   Woikes,  fol.  1030. 


IXTRODUCTIOX  TO  ADAMS'  WOBKS. 


SKittprcd  over  nearly  pvery  page.  But  the  starting  point  is  ever- 
more tlie  langiiaije  of  Holy  Scripture.  We  confess  that,  apart 
from  all  other  attractions,  we  have  a  growing-  conviction  of  the 
incomparable  superiority  of  this  mode  of  teaching  religion  over 
every  other.  It  has  prevailed  in  every  age  of  the  church  in  wliich 
Christianity  has  flourished. 

Expository  dlscouises  on  large  paragraphs  of  Scripture,  are 
eminently  conducive  to  the  instruction  of  the  human  race  in  the 
highest  wisdom.  But  such  is  not  exactly  the  metliod  of  these 
volumes.  Instead  of  unfolding  the  meaning  and  connexion  of  a 
large  portion  of  Scripture,  or  expounding  consecutively  an  entire 
hook,  as  he  does  in  the  Exposition  of  the  Second  Epistle  of  Peter,  a 
strikingand  generally  brief  passage  is  chosen;  itswordsare  explained, 
— its  bearing  is  pointed  out,— its  applications  are  unfolded  to  the 
various  characters  of  men,  whether  bad  or  good,  and  to  the  various 
ranks,  conditions,  professions,  opinions,  joys,  and  sorrows  of  huma- 
nity. To  do  this,  after  the  fashion  of  his  own  age,  this  author 
brings  out  the  powers  of  a  vigorous  understanding,  and  the  stores 
of  many  years'  accumulation,  aided  by  wonderful  ingenuity ;  and  en- 
gaging the  reader  by  unexpected  turns  of  wit,  by  imagerj-  which  is 
sometimes  coarse  and  strong,  but  not  unfrequently  displaying  great 
delicacy  and  beauty.  By  perpetually  keeping  before  his  readers  the 
v^ord  of  God,  as  an  acknowledged  authority,  he  wields  a  moral  in- 
fluence over  our  minds,  which  no  reasoning  on  general  principles 
could  secure.  We  are  far  from  vouching  for  the  soundness  of  all 
his  interpretations,  or  the  accuracy  with  which,  at  all  times,  he  uses 
the  words  of  Scripture  ;  yet  we  cannot  withhold  our  admiration  of 
his  prevailing  method. — AVe  are  the  more  disposed  to  give  promi- 
nence to  this  characteristic,  because  we  perceive  in  religious  dis- 
courses of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  in  not  a  few  of  the  present 
day,  a  preference  for  a  style  of  religious  instruction,  which  runs 
into  the  extreme  of  making  very  chary  use,  and  even  taking  but  slisht 
notice,  of  the  most  perfect  lanijuacie  in  the  world.  It  is  certainly 
better  for  any  man  to  clothe  his  own  thoughts  in  his  own  words,  than 
in  any  other;  but  in  teaching  the  truths  of  religion,  urging  its 
duties,  or  ministering  either  its  rebukes  or  its  consolations,  ali  our 
reading,  observation,  and  experience  plea  1  on  behalf  of  a  copious 
and  judicious  use  of  Scripture  language,  not  interwoven  with  the 
fabric  of  a  human  composition,  but  standing  out  in  the  majesty  of 
its  own  truth,  and  the  sacredness  of  its  own  inspiration.  The 
author  now  before  us  affords  a  happy  example,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  of  the  fulness  of  meaning  which  there  is  in  Scripture,  with  - 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ADA5IS'  WORKS.  Xxjii 

out  the  torturing  miscalled  senses  of  a  passage ;  while  the  eapahilities 
of  a  learned  and  ingenious  teacher  are  excited  in  calling  attention 
to  that  meaning,  imbuing  the  thoughts  with  it,  writing  it  with  living 
freshness  on  the  inward  tablets  of  the  spirit.  Is  it  not  immeasurably 
better  for  us  to  deal  thus  with  the  revealed  wisdom  of  heaven,  than 
to  dry  it  like  a  skeleton  for  the  anatomist,  by  endless  philological 
discussions,  or  to  cover  it  ynth  the  misty  light  of  an  ever-changing 
philosophy  ? 

Without  disparaging  the  labours  of  scholars,  or  the  speculations 
of  metaphysicians,  we  must  say,  that  the  best  fruit  of  such  studies 
is  the  power  they  give,  or  improve,  of  bringing  out  the  clear  truth 
of  Scripture,  as  the  daylight  of  our  practical  life,  the  restraint  of 
our  passions,  and  the  comforter  of  our  hearts  in  sorrow  and  in 
death. 

The  treatises  we  are  now  bringing  out  of  the  obscurity  of  two 
centuries,  contain  a  rich  treat  for  all  who  love  pertinent  and  felicit- 
ous enforcement  of  the  practical  lessons  of  the  Bible.  We  can 
scarcely  say  that  the  pieces  chosen  are  better  than  the  rest.  They 
are  quite  as  good. — Their  very  titles  are  full  of  genius.  None  of 
them  can  be  considered  as  a  strictly  doctrinal  discussion,  though,  in 
all  of  them,  some  more  than  others,  there  are  statements  of  doctrine, 
and  as  we  have  already  seen,  elaborate  arguments  in  vindication  of  the 
doctrine,  or  rather  of  the  interpretation  of  the  passage,  from  specula- 
tive objections.  The  bare  mention  of  the  titles  of  discourses  not  cm- 
braced  in  the  present  series,  will  convey  a  favourable  impression  of  the 
wide  range  which  the  author  has  taken,  and  the  terseness  with  which 
he  can  express  himself.  The  Gallant's  Burden. — The  White  Devil. 
— The  Black  Saint. — The  Fatal  Banquet.— The  Sinner's  Passing 
Bell.— The  Wolf  and  the  Lambs.— Mystical  Bedlam.— The  Vic- 
tory of  Patiance. — Presumption  running  into  Despair. — Hea- 
ven made  sure. — The  City  of  Peace. — The  Forest  of  Thorns. 
— Not  only  are  the  titles  admirably  chosen ;  the  whole  com- 
position will  be  found  in  keeping  with  them.  In  a  treatise  on 
"  The  Soul's  Sickness,"  he  describes  nineteen  spiritual  disorders 
analogous  to  those  of  the  body,  explaining  their  causes,  and  pre- 
scribing the  remedies.  We  can  give  only  one  example. — "  Incon- 
stancy— a  kind  of  staggers.  There  is  a  disease  in  the  soul  called 
Inconstancy,  not  unfitly  shadowed  to  us  by  a  bodily  infirmity  pos- 
sessing the  superior  part  of  man.  Vertigo,  a  swimming  in  the 
head ;  a  giddiness,  or  the  staggers.  The  disease  in  the  body  is  de- 
scribed to  be  an  astonishing  and  darkening  of  the  eyes  and  spirits, 
that  the  patient  thinks  all  that  he  seeth  to  turn  round,  and  is  sud- 


XXIV  ISTIIODUCTIOX  TO  ADAMs'  M-OEKS. 

denly  compassed  with  darkness.  The  parallel  to  it  in  the  soul  is 
laconstancy,  a  motion  without  rule,  a  various  aspect,  a  diversifjHng 
intention.  Tlie  inconstant  man  is  like  a  Puur  contrell.  If  he 
should  change  his  apparel  so  fast  as  his  thought,  how  often  in  a  day 
would  he  shift  himself?  He  would  be  a  Proteus  too,  and  vary 
kinds.  The  reflection  of  every  man's  views  melts  him  ;  whereof 
he  is  as  soon  glutted.  As  he  is  a  noun,  he  is  only  adjective,  de- 
pending on  every  novel  i>ersuasion ;  as  a  verb  he  knows  only  the 
present  tense.  To-day  he  goes  to  the  quay  to  be  shippwl  for 
Rome ;  but  before  the  tidra  come,  his  tide  is  turned.  One  party 
thinks  him  theirs ;  the  adverse  theirs ;  he  is  with  both — with  nei- 
ther ;  not  an  hour  with  himself.  Because  the  birds  and  beasts  be 
at  controvers}',  he  will  be  a  bat,  and  get  liim  both  wings  and  teeth, 
lie  would  come  to  heaven  but  for  his  halting.  Two  opinions  (like 
two  watermen)  almost  pull  him  apieccs,  when  he  resolves  to  put 
his  judgment  into  a  boat,  and  go  somewhither:  presently  he  steps 
back,  and  goes  with  neither.  It  is  a  wonder  if  his  affections,  being 
but  a  little  lukewarm  water,  do  not  make  his  religion  stomach-sick. 
Inditfercnce  is  his  ballast,  and  opinion  his  sail ;  he  resolves  not  to 
resolve.  He  knows  not  what  he  doth  hold.  He  opens  his  mind 
to  receive  notions,  as  one  opens  his  palm  to  take  a  handful  of 
water  ;  he  hath  very  much,  if  he  could  hold  it.  He  is  sure  to  die, 
but  not  what  religion  to  die  in  !  he  demurs  like  a  posed  lawj-er,  aa 
if  delay  could  remove  some  impediments.  He  is  drunk  when  he 
riseth,  and  reels  in  a  morning  fasting.  He  knows  not  whether  he 
should  say  his  Pater  noster  in  Latin  or  English  ;  and  so  leaves  it, 
and  his  prayers,  unsaid.  He  makes  himself  ready  for  an  appointed 
feast ;  by  the  way  he  hears  of  a  sermon ;  he  turns  thitherward ; 
and  yet,  betwixt  the  church-gate  and  church-door,  he  thinks  of 
business  and  retires  home  again.  In  a  controverted  point,  he  holds 
with  the  last  reasoner  he  cither  heard  or  read;  the  next  diverts 
him  ;  and  his  opinion  dwells  with  him,  perhaps  so  long  as  the 
teacher  of  it  is  in  his  sight.  He  will  rather  take  dross  for  gold, 
tlian  try  it  in  the  furnace.  He  receives  many  judgments,  retains 
none :  embracing  so  many  faiths  that  he  is  little  better  than  an 

infidel   He  loathes  manna,  after  two  days'  feeding,  and  is 

almost  weary  of  the  sun  for  perpetual  shining.  If  the  Temple 
Pavement  be  ever  worn  with  his  visitant  feet,  he  will  run  far  to  a 

new  teacJier   His  best  dwelling  would  be  his  confined  chamber, 

where  he  would  trouble  nothing  but  his  pillow.  He  is  full  of  busi- 
ness at  church,  a  stranger  at  home,  a  sceptic  abroad,  an  observer  in 
the  street,  everywhere  a  fool." — In  like  manner,  "The  Gai.i.axt's 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAils'  \V0RK3.  XXV 

Burden"  contains  a  full  exposition  of  the  remarkable  words  of  the 
Prophet:  "  The.  burden  of  IJuinah.  lU  caUeth  to  me  out  of  Seir, 
Watchman,  wlMt  of  the  niglit?  Watrhinan,  w/i,it  of  t/i,-  iii,jhf> 
The  watchman  said,  The  morniiHj  conifrth,  and  alsu  liti'  nii/ht :  ij'i/e 
vill  enquire,  enquire  ye  ;  return,  come.''  He  doscribes  the  country 
of  Idumea.  He  represents  the  shortening  of  the  name  from  Idumca 
to  Duuiah  (as  Aram  is  called  Ram,  and  Ephcs-dammin  is  called 
I'ardammim,  and  Damraim),  as  the  insinuation  of  God's  contempt 
of  that  rebellious  and  accursed  nation,  by  cutting  short  the  name  as 
unworthy  to  stand  in  his  Book,  graced  with  the  full  length :  the 
estimation  which  the  wicked  bear  with  (rod  is  here  expressed ;  he 
thinks  the  mention  of  them  a  blur  to  his  sacred  leaves  :  now,  "  shall 
their  persons  sit  in  his  kingdom  with  honour,  whose  names  may  not 
stand  in  his  Book  without  disgrace?"  He  then  contrasts  the  hon- 
our which  the  world  is  seeking  with  that  which  God  bestows.  The 
"  Burden"  of  the  prophecy  is  considered  as  weighing  heavy  on  the 
prophet,  from  which  he  takes  occasion  to  enlarge  on  the  negligence 
of  ministers,  and  then,  as  heavy  on  whomsoei^er  thcjj  light,  when  he 
denounces  the  mockers,  murmurers,  and  all  wicked  and  careless 
hearers  of  the  gospel.  From  the  judgments  on  Seir,  the  strength 
of  Edom  ;  Nineveh,  the  pride  of  Assyria ;  Troy,  the  pillar  of  Asia ; 
Babylon,  more  a  region  than  a  city ;  Carthage  graced  with  seven- 
teen tributary  kingdoms ;  Jerusalem  and  Rome — he  then  lifts  up 
this  voice  of  warning  to  England  : — "  Let  me  not  speak  as  a  pro- 
phet, but  as  an  admonisher :  It  is  impossible  for  the  sin  of  Eng- 
land to  have  the  like  effect.  We  are  ready  to  say  in  pride,  what 
David  spake  in  the  assurance  of  faith  :  /  cannot fall :  thou,  0  Lord, 
of  thy  goodness  hast  made  my  hill  strong.  Let  us  praise  God  for 
that  we  have,  and  pray  that  our  sins  subvert  it  not.  Let  Dumah 
speak  with  pride  :  though  our  privileges  be  more,  let  our  presump- 
tion be  less  :  it  is  wise  and  safe  to  possess  more  than  we  boast  of. 
Though  nature  hath  bound  up  the  loins  of  our  kingdom  with  a 
girdle  of  waves,  and  policy  raised  another  fence  of  wooden  walls, 
yet  God  must  put  about  us  a  third  girdle, — the  bands  or  circle  of 
his  providence — or  our  strength  is  weaker  than  the  waters.  It  is 
an  old  and  sure  rule  against  the  atheist,  against  the  worldlings — 
that  whole  cannot  be  perpetual  whose  parts  be  alterable.  If  the 
members  of  this  great  body,  the  world,  change,  faint,  and  grow  old, 
it  argues  a  creeping  decay  to  the  whole.  Let  the  cormorant  know, 
that  would  build  his  nest  here  for  ever,  that  parts  of  this  laud  are 
alterable,  therefore  the  whole  not  permanent.  If  the  plague  takes 
away  men,  the  fields  grow  barren,  nay,  the  wearied  earth  (after 


3Xvi  INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WOEKS. 

much  industry)  is  dull  in  her  fruits.  Like  an  unnatural  stcp-dame, 
she  produceth  no  good  things  of  herself.  If  a  deluge  overrun  us, 
we  and  our  glory  vanish.  God  hath  more  means  than  one  to  in- 
flict his  judgments.  It  is  with  no  less  admiration  than  truth  re- 
ported, that  a  whole  field  in  England  is  turned  in  one  month  from  a 
fertile  soil  to  a  most  barren  waste.  It  lies  from  the  danger  of 
inundation,  from  the  reach  of  the  hand  of  war ;  what  then  can 
turn  it  to  a  perpetual  barrenness  ?  Thus :  God  raiseth  a  mighty 
wind  that  uncovers  a  mountain  of  sand  which  overspread  the  fruit- 
ful valley  to  a  great  thickness,  and  it  is  made  worse  than  C'armel 
which  God  thus  threatens  :  /  will  turn  Lebanon  into  C'armel,  and 
Carmel  into  a  forest :  it  lies  in  the  power  of  man's  sin  to  make  God 
curse  his  very  blessings.  The  burden  of  Dumah  is  war.  Mount 
Seir  fears  it  not.  If  the  book  of  our  hearts  lay  open  to  be  read,  I 
think  our  fear  of  war  is  less  than  theirs.  God  grant  our  presump- 
tion, our  security,  be  not  as  great!  We  sit  under  our  own  Jig-trees, 
<ind  eat  the  fruit  of  our  own  vineyards.  Our  children  go  out  by 
flocks,  and  dance ;  and  flourish  like  the  olive-branches  round  about 
our  table.  Our  oxen  are  strong  to  labour.  Our  sheep  bring  forth 
thousands  and  ten  thousands  in  our  streets.  There  is  no  leading 
into  captivity,  no  dashing  of  our  children  against  the  stones,  no  com- 
plaining in  our  streets.  If  this  one  blessing  exceed  not  our  thank- 
fulness for  all,  my  observation  is  deceived.  But  what  a  bold  infer- 
ence is  this  !  There  is  no  war,  therefore  may  be  none,  nor  can  we 
be  overthrown !  It  is  a  speech  as  common  as  the  stones  in  our 
streets,  when  consideration  of  war  is  offered,  '  We  need  fear  no  ene- 
mies, if  we  be  true  amongst  ourselves.'  Vain  security  that  is  built 
on  ifs  and  ands.  Who  shall  make  us  true  to  ourselves  that  have 
been  false  to  God  ?  Are  there  no  sons  of  Belial  amongst  us,  that 
curse  the  prosperity  of  Zion,  and  gape  for  the  day  to  cry  Down  with 
it,  down  with  it,  even  to  the  ground  ?  We  know  they  have  openly 
and  privately,  with  coat  of  armour  and  coat  of  mail,  assaulted  the 
peace  of  Jerusalem,  but  (praise  to  our  God)  received  shame  in  put- 
ting off  their  harness.  Let  this  make  us  thankful,  not  secure,  as  if 
God  could  not  reach  his  arm  over  our  narrow  seas.  Behold  France 
made  a  cockpit  for  massacres  by  the  uncivil  civil  wars  theieof. 
Think  of  the  unquiet  bread  long  eaten  in  the  Low  Countries.  And 
when  thou  sayest,  '  We  lay  our  heads  on  the  pillows  of  peace,  and 
eat  the  bread  of  plenty,'  kiss  His  hand  with  praises  that  feeds  thee 
with  these  blessings,  but  let  not  thy  own  strength  make  thee  care- 
less." 

While  keeping  to  the  main  idea  started  by  the  words  of  Scrip- 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS.  XXvii 

ture,  the  lively  and  poetical  imagination  of  this  highly  gifted  writer 
draws  from  the  scenery  of  nature  most  appropriate  and  graceful 
images. 

"  Be  not  too  confident  (whosoever)  in  thy  Mount  Seir.  Every 
mcked  soul  hath  her  Jlount  Seir  to  trust  in.  They  that  have  no  as- 
surance of  rest  in  heaven,  have  their  refuges  and  mountains  of  help 
on  earth.  David  so  returns  it  upon  the  wicked  :  '  In  the  Lord 
put  I  my  trust ;  how  tlien  say  you  to  my  soul,  flee  as  a  bird  to  your 
mountain?'  Why  should  I  seek  to  foreign  helps,  that  have  settled  my- 
self in  the  bosom  of  Rest  itself?  Riches  are  a  Mount  Seir  to  the  cove- 
tous. They  rest  on  them,  as  the  ark  on  the  mountains  of  Armenia. 
Honour  is  a  Mount  Seir  to  the  ambitious,  against  all  the  besieging 
of  rivals.  Sensuality  to  the  voluptuous,  against  all  the  disturbances 
of  a  clamorous  conscience.  Pride,  fraud,  drunkenness,  is  as  Mount 
Seir  to  the  lovers  of  them.  But,  alas  !  how  unsafe  :  if  stronger 
against,  and  further  removed  from,  the  hand  of  man,  yet  nearer  to 
God's  hand  in  heaven,  though  we  acknowledge  no  place  far  from 
God  or  from  his  tbunder.  Hut  we  say,  it  is  not  always  the  safest 
sailing  on  the  top  of  the  mast.  To  live  on  the  mountainous  height 
of  a  temporal  estate  is  neither  wise  nor  happy.  Men  standing  in 
the  shade  of  humble  valleys,  look  up  and  wonder  at  the  height  of 
hills,  and  think  it  goodly  living  there,  as  Peter  thought  Tabor. 
But  when,  with  weary  limbs,  they  have  ascended,  and  find  the 
beams  of  the  sun  melting  their  spirits,  or  the  cold  blasts  of  wind 
making  their  sinews  slack,  flashes  of  lightning,  or  cracks  of  thunder, 
soonest  endangering  their  advanced  heads,  then  they  confess  (check- 
ing their  proud  conceit)  the  low  valley  is  safest.  For  the  fruitful 
dews  that  fall  fast  on  the  hills  stay  least  while  there,  but  run  down 
to  the  valley ;  and  though,  on  such  a  promontorj-,  a  man  further 
sees,  and  is  further  seen,  yet,  in  the  valley,  where  he  sees  less,  he 
enjoys  more  !" 

Many  passages  of  these  discourses  remind  ns  of  the  solemn  and 
tender  beauty  which  so  greatly  charms  us  in  Jeremy  Taylor. 

"  Men  and  brethren,  let  us  be  thankful.  Let  our  meditations  tra- 
vel, with  David  in  the  148th  Psalm,  first  up  into  heaven.  Even 
the  very  heavens  and  heights  praise  him.  And  those  blessed  angels 
in  his  court  sing  his  glory.  Descend  we  then  by  the  celestial  bodies, 
and  we  shall  find  the  sun,  moon,  and  all  the  stars  of  light  praising 
him.  A  little  lower,  we  shall  perceive  the  meteors  and  upper  ele- 
ments, the  fire  and  hail,  snow  and  vapour,  magnifying  him,  even 
the  wind  and  storms  fulfilling  his  word.  Fall  we  upon  the  centre — 
the  veiy  earth.    We  shall  hear  the  beasts  and  cattle,  mountains  and 


xxviii  INTEODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WOEKS. 

hills,  fruitful  trees  and  all  cedars,  extolling  his  name.  The  chirp- 
ing birds  still  sing  sweet  psalms  and  carols  to  their  Creator's  praise, 
every  ir.oming  when  they  rise,  every  evening  when  they  go  to  rest. 
Not  so  much  as  the  very  creeping  things,  saith  the  Psalmist,  noisome 
(Iraiioiis.  and  crawling  serpents  in  the  deeps,  hut  they  do,  in  a  sort, 
]Ai'-<  tli^-ii-  ilaki.T.  Let  not  man,  then,  the  first  fruits  of  his  crea- 
t\ui.s.  lor  whoSL-  SCO-ice  all  the  rest  were  made,  be  unthankful." 
Tlie  following  patlietic  l  o^sagc'  occurs  in  a  discourse  on  the  words 
of  Jeremiah,  "Is  tliri.-  n..  lialni  in  Gilead  ?"  which  bears  this 
beautiful  title,  "  Tin:  Sinm  I'as^ixo  Bell  ;  or,  a  Complaint  from 
Heaven  for  Man's  t^ius  :  — "  If  wc  take  these  words  spoken  in  the 
person  of  the  prophet,  let  us  observe,  that  he  is  no  good  preacher 
that  complains  not  in  these  sinful  days.  Isaiah  had  not  more  cause 
for  Israel,  than  we  for  England,  to  cry,  '  We  have  laboured  in  vain, 
and  spent  our  strength  fur  nought.'  For,  if  we  equal  Israel  in  God's 
blessings,  we  transcend  them  in  our  sins.  The  blood-red  sea  of 
war  and  slaughter,  wherein  other  nations  are  drowned,  as  were  the 
Egyptians,  is  become  dry  to  our  feet  of  pe^ce.  The  bread  of  hea- 
ven, that  true  manna,  satisfies  our  hunger,  and  our  thirst  is  quenched 
with  the  waters  of  life.  The  better  law  of  the  gospel  is  given  us, 
and  our  saving  health  is  not  like  a  curious  piece  of  arras  folded  up, 
but  spread  before  our  believing  eyes,  without  any  shadow  cast  over 
the  beauty  of  it.  We  have  a  better  High  Priest  to  make  interces- 
sion for  us  in  heaven,  for  whom  he  hath  once  sacrificed  and  satisfied 
on  earth,  with  one  act,  with  everlasting  virtue.  We  want  nothing 
that  earth  can  help  us  to,  but  that  wliich  we  voluntarily  xcill  want, 
and  without  which  we  had  better  have  wanted  all  the  rest — thank- 
fulness and  obedience.  We  return  God  not  one  for  a  thousand,  not 
a  drachm  of  service  for  so  many  talents  of  goodness.  We  give  God 
the  worst  of  all  things,  that  hath  given  us  the  best  of  all  things. 
We  cull  out  the  least  for  his  tithe  ;  the  sleepiest  hours  for  his 
prayers  ;  the  chippings  of  our  wealth  for  his  poor ;  a  comer  of  the 
heart  for  his  ark,  where  Dagon  sits  uppermost  in  his  temple.  He 
hath  bowels  of  brass,  and  a  heart  of  iron,  that  cannot  mourn  at  this 
our  requital.  We  give  God  measure  for  measure  ;  but  after  an  ill 
manner.  For  his  blessings,  Aeojuen,and  shaken,  and  thrust  togetlur — • 
iniquities  pressed  domi,  and  running  over.  Like  hogs  we  slaver  his 
pearls,  turn  his  grace  into  wantonness,  and  turn  again  to  rend  in 
pieces  the  bringers.  Who,  versing  [turning]  in  his  mind  this 
thought,  can  keep  his  cheeks  drj-  ?  '  Oh  that  my  head  vrere  u  ateis, 
and  mine  eyes  a  fountain  of  tears,  that  I  might  ireep  day  and  night ! ' 
No  marvel,  if  the  good  soul  tremble  to  think  of  it ;  especially,  when 


IXTRODUCTION  TO  APAMs'  TVORKS.  sxix 
all  this  wickedness  arisrtli  (iint  from  Sr.ildin,  ami  Sidon,  and  Edom, 
but)  from  the  midst  of  the  ,/„/,.,/,/. ,  Si,u..  ]\v  that  (■an  sre  this 
and  not  sigh,  is  not  a  witm lurt  an  nt,  :\iu\  sin  hath  olistnictcd 
his  lungs  ;  he  cannot  sorrow.  i'(irlirar,  tlim,  ye  captious  sons  of 
Bdial,  to  complain  against  ns,  for  complaining  against  you.  Whih; 
this  hydra  of  inifpiities  puts  forth  her  still  growing  heads,  and  tin; 
sword  of  reproof  cannot  cut  them  ott',  what  should  we  do  but  mourn  ? 
Whither  can  we  turn  our  eyes,  but  we  behold  and  lament  at  once — • 
some  roving  with  lewdness,  some  raving  with  madness,  others  reeling 
with  chriety,  and  yet  others  railing  with  blasphemy?  If  we  be  not 
sad,  wc  must  be  guilty.  Condemn  not  our  j'assions,  but  your  own  re- 
bellions that  excite  them.  The  zeal  of  onv  (mxI  wliom  u-e  serve 
with  our  spii-its,  makes  us,  with  Moses,  to  foi  lm  t  ourselves.  II  « 
also  are  men  of  like  passions  irilli  i/nu.  It  is  tin-  comnion  pica  of  us 
all. — If  you  ask  us  wh-,-  ivr  -hi'w  iiiir>elvrs  thus  weak,  we  return, 
with  Paul,— 11%  do  ,i„u  tins,  l!,i,„is-/  Our  God  hath  charged  us 
not  to  see  tlie  funerals  of  your  souls  witlioiit  sighs  and  fears.  77,«s 
saith  the  Lord;  timih:  irith  ihi/  liuml,  „,i,l  sl.m,/,  irith  /■"■I,  and 
say,  Alas,  for  all  thr  rrll  <il«,ml„„h.ws  <.f  ih.  hnuse  ..j'  hm.  I ;  for 
thetj  fu.ll  hj  the  sii-vrd,  l,i/  the  famine,  and  I,,/  thr  jn  -slil,  nn  .  siiall 
all  complain  of  lost  labours,  and  we  brook  the  greatest  loss  in 
silence  ? — Merchants  bewail  the  shipwreck  of  their  goods,  and  com- 
plain of  pirates ; — shepherds  of  their  devoured  flocks  by  savage 
wolves; — husbandmen  of  the  tired  earth,  that  recputes  their  hopes 
with  weeds; — and  shall  ministers  see,  and  not  sorrow  for,  the 
the  greatest  ruin  (the  loss  of  the  world  were  less)  of  men's  souls? 
They  that  have  written  to  the  life  the  downfall  of  famous  cities, 
cither  wasted  by  the  immediate  hand  of  God,  as  Sodom,  or  by  man, 
as  Jerusalem,  as  if  they  had  written  with  tears  instead  of  ink,  have 
pathetically  lamented  the  ruins.  iEneas  Silvius,  reporting  the  fall 
of  Constantinople,  '  historifies,' together  with  her  passion  [sutTer- 
ingj ,  his  ovm  compassion  for  it : — The  murdering  of  children  before 
the  parents'  faces  ; — the  slaughtering  of  nobles  like  beasts  ; — the 
priests  torn  in  pieces  ;  the  religious  flayed  ; — the  holy  virgins  and 
sober  matrons  wronged  and  massacred  ; — and  even  the  reliqucs  of 
the  soldiers'  spoil  given  to  the  merciless  f.re  !  Oh  wretched  show 
of  a  miserable  city !  Consider  Jerusalem,  the  city  of  God — the 
queen  of  the  provinces.  Tell  her  towers ;  mark  well  her  bul- 
warks ;  carry  in  your  mind  the  idea  of  her  glories.  And  then,  on 
a  sudden,  behold  the  temple  and  houses  burning, — the  smoke  of  the 
fire  waving  in  the  air,  and  hiding  the  light  of  the  sun, — the  flames 
springing  up  to  heaven  as  high  as  their  sias  had  erst  done ; — her 


XXX  INTHODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WOEKS. 

old,  yonng,  matrons,  virgins,  mothers,  infants,  princes  and  priests, 
prophets  and  Nazarites,  famished,  fettered,  scattered,  consumed  ! 
If  ever  you  read,  or  hear,  it  without  commiseration,  your  hearts  are 
liarder  than  the  Romans  that  destroyed  it.  The  ruin  of  great 
things  wrings  out  our  pity;  and  it  is  only  a  Nero  that  can  sit  and 
sing  while  Rome  burns.  But  wliat  are  a  world  of  cities,  nay,  the 
whole  world  itself  burning,  as  it  must  be  one  day,  to  the  loss  of  men's 
souls,  the  rarest  pieces  of  God's  fabric  on  earth?" — In  the  same  dis- 
course, there  are  passages  remarkable  for  the  vigour  of  the  thought  and 
the  terseness  of  the  expression — '■  Let  us  avoid  sin  as  much  as  we 
may;  and,  though  we  cannot  stay  ourselves  from  going  in,  let  us  stay 
ourselves  from  going  on,  lest  our  God  complain  against  us.  If  we 
make  him  sorrowful  for  a  time,  he  can  make  us  sorrowful  for  ever. 
If  we  anger  him,  he  can  anger  all  the  veins  of  our  hearts.  If,  in- 
stead of  serving  God  by  our  obedience,  we  make  him  serve  with  our 
sins,  he  will  make  us  serve  with  his  plagues.  If  we  drive  God  to 
call  a  convocation  of  heaven  and  earth — '  Hear,  O  heaven,  and  hear- 
ken, O  earth — I  have  nourished  and  brought  up  children,  and  they 
have  rebelled  ag.iinst  me.'  If  he  call  on  the  mountains  to  hear  his 
controversy,  he  will  make  us  call  on  the  mountains  to  help  and 
hide  our  misery.  If  we  put  God  to  his  controversy,  and  make 
him  a  plaintiff  to  enter  his  suit  against  us,  he  will  put  us  to  a  com- 
plaint indeed  ;  there/ore  shall  the  land  mourn,  and  every  one  that 
dwelleth  therein  shall  languish.  lie  will  force  us  to  repent  the  time 
and  deeds  that  ever  made  him  to  repent  that  he  made  us.  He  will 
strike  us  with  such  a  blow  that  there  needeth  no  doubling  of  it.  He 
will  maice  an  utter  end ;  destruction  shall  not  rise  up  the  second  time, 
as  Ahishai  would  have  stricken  Saul  at  once ;  and  I  will  not  smite 
him  the  second  time.  We  cannot  so  wrong  God  that  he  is  deprived 
of  power  to  right  himself  His  first  complaint  is,  as  I  may  say,  in 
tears  ;  his  second  in  hlood.  I  have  read  of  Tamerlane,  that  the  first 
day  of  his  siege  was  honoured  with  his  white  colours ;  the  second 
with  the  fatal  red  ;  but  the  third  with  the  final  black.  God  is  not 
so  quick  and  speedy  in  punishment ;  nor  come  his  judgments  with 
such  precipitation.  Nineveh,  after  so  many  forties  of  years,  shall 
yet  have  forty  days.  He  that  at  last  came  with  his  fan  in  hb  hand, 
and  fanned  but  eight  grains  of  good  corn  out  of  a  whole  bamful  of 
cliaff — a  whole  world  of  people — gave  them  the  space  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  years'  repentance.  If  Jerusalem  >vill  not  hear 
Christ's  words,  they  shall  feel  his  hands.  They  that  are  deaf  to  his 
voice,  shall  not  be  insensible  to  his  blows.  He  that  may  not  be 
heard  will  be  felt  .  .  .    There  is  sweet  mercy  even  in  his  chidings. 


INTKODHCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS. 


He  teacheth  us  a  happy  composure  of  our  reprehensions.  We  arc  of 
too  violent  a  spirit,  if  at  least  we  know  what  spirit  we  are  of,  when 
nothing  can  content  us  but  fire  from  heaven.  Ife  that  holds  the 
fires  of  heaven  in  his  commanding  hand,  and  can  pour  theui  in  floods 
on  rebellious  Sodom,  holds  back  his  arm,  and  doth  but  gently  loosen 
his  voice  to  his  people.  I  know  there  is  a  time  to  hear  the  still 
voice  that  came  to  Elias,  or  the  whisperings  of  that  voice  behind : 
'  This  is  the  way ;  walk  in  it' — can  do  little  good  ;  and  then  God  is 
content  we  should  derive  from  his  throne  thunderings  and  lightnings, 
and  louder  sounds.  The  hammer  of  the  law  must  soon  break  the 
stony  heart  of  rebellion  ;  and  often  the  sweet  balm  of  the  gospel 
must  supple  the  broken  conscience.  Let  us  not  transpose  or  invert 
the  method  and  direction  of  our  office,  killing  the  dying  with  the 
killing  letter,  and  preaching  judgment  without  mercy,  lest  we  reap 
judgment  without  mercy  to  ourselves.  Some  men's  hearts  are  like 
nettles  :  if  you  touch  them  but  gently,  they  will  sting  ;  but  rough 
handling  is  without  prejudice ;  while  others  are  like  the  briars  that 
wound  the  hard  grasping  hand  of  reproof,  but  yield  willingly  to  them 
that  touch  them  with  exhortation.  One  must  be  washed  with  gentle 
baths,  whilst  another  must  have  his  ulcers  cut  with  lances.  Only 
do  all,  not  with  an  oblique  and  sinister  purpose,  but  with  a  direct  in- 
tention to  save.  An  odious,  tedious,  endless  inculcation  of  things 
doth  often  tire  those  with  whom  a  soft  and  short  reproof  would  find 
good  impression  .  .  . 

"  It  is  objected  that  the  thoughts  of  God  are  peace.  He  that  is 
covered  with  thunder  and  clothed  with  lightning  speaks,  and  the 
earth  trembles  ;  toucheth  the  mountains,  and  they  smoke  for  it ; 
sharpens  not  his  tongue  like  a  razor,  but  speaks  like  a  mournful  com- 
plaint. What,  then,  mean  our  preachers,  to  lift  up  their  voices  like 
trumpets,  and  to  speak  in  the  tune  of  thunder  against  us  ?  We  can- 
not wear  a  garment  in  the  fashion,  nor  take  use  for  our  money,  nor 
drink  with  a  good  fellow,  nor  strengthen  one  word  with  the  credit 
of  an  oath,  but  bitter  invectives  must  be  shot  like  porcupines'  quills 
at  these  slight  scapes !  I  answer,  God  knows  when  to  chide  and 
when  to  mourn  ;  when  to  say,  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan,  as  to 
Peter,  and  when  coolly  to  tax  Jonas,  Dost  thou  well  to  be  angry  ? 
But  he  that  mourns  for  Israel  degenerate,  doth  at  another  time  pro- 
test against  Israel  apostate,  and  swears  they  shall  not  enter  into  his 
rest.  We  would  fain  do  so  too  ;  I  mean,  speak  nothing  but  grace 
and  peace  to  you  ;  but  if  ever  we  be  thorns,  it  is  because  we  live 
amongst  briars  ;  if  we  lift  up  oar  voices,  it  is  because  your  hearts 
are  so  sleepy  that  you  would  not  else  hear  us." 


XXXll  INTEODUCTIOS  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS. 

If  any  apology  were  needed  for  the  fij^irative  language,  and  the 
varied  style  of  illustration,  in  which  this  writer  abounds,  we  know 
not  that  one  so  fitting  could  be  found  as  that  which  he  himself  su|;- 
plies: — "  God  hath  given  us  this  liberty  in  the  performance  of  our 
callings,  not  only  nakedly  to  lay  down  the  truth,  but  with  the  helps 
of  invention,  wit,  art,  to  prevent  the  loathing  of  his  mannii.  If  we 
had  none  to  hear  us  but  Cornelius  or  Lydia,  or  such  sanctified  cars, 
a  mere  affirmation  were  a  sufficient  confirmation.  But  our  auditors 
are  like  the  Belgic  armies  (that  consist  of  French,  English,  Scotch, 
German,  Spanish,  Italian,  &c.),  so  many  hearers,  so  many  humours : 
the  same  diversity  of  men  and  minds,  that,  as  guests  at  a  strange 
dish,  every  man  hath  a  relish  by  himself — that  all  our  helps  can 
scarcely  help  one  soul  to  heaven.  But  of  all  kinds,  there  is  none 
that  creeps  with  better  insinuation,  or  leaves  behind  a  deeper  im- 
pression on  the  conscience,  than  a  fit  comparison.  This  extorted 
from  David  what  would  hardly  have  been  granted,  tliat,  as  Uavid 
slew  Goliah  with  his  own  sword,  so  Nathan  slew  David's  sin  with 
his  own  word.  Jotham  convinced  the  Shecheraites'  folly  in  their 
approved  reign  of  Abimelcch  over  them,  by  the  talc  of  the  bramble. 
Even  temporal  occasions  open  the  mines  to  dig  out  spiritual  instruc- 
tions. The  people  flock  to  Christ  for  his  bread  :  Christ  preaclieth 
to  them  another  bread,  whereof  he  that  eats  shall  never  die.  The 
Samaritan  woman  speaks  to  him  of  Jacob's  well ;  he  tells  her  of 
Jesus'  well,  whose  bottom  or  foundation  was  in  heaven,  whose  mouth 
and  spring  was  downwards  to  the  earth,  cross  [contrary]  to  all 
earthly  fountains,  containing  u-aler  of  life,  to  be  drawn  and  carried 
away  on  the  buckets  of  faith.  She  thought  it  a  new  well ;  she 
found  it  a  true  well,  whereof  drinking,  her  souls  thirst  was  for  ever 
satisfied.  The  cripple  begs  for  an  alms  ;  the  apostle  hath  no  money, 
but  answers  his  small  request  with  a  great  bequest — health  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Ilis  purse  is  nothing  the  fuller,  his  body 
is  much  the  happier.  Tliis  course,  you  see,  both  Christ  and  his 
apostles  gave  us  in  practice  and  precept." 

One  of  the  attractions  of  Adams'  sermons  lies  in  his  admirable 
portraitures  of  the  manners  of  his  times.  The  licentiousness  of 
James's  court  is  well  known  to  all  who  are  acquainted  with  the  his- 
tory and  the  literature  of  that  age  ;  and  the  general  corruption  of 
society,  in  tomi  and  country,  were  such  as  might  be  expected  under 
such  a  government.  The  exceptions  to  the  prevailing  tone  of  Eng- 
lish manners  might  be  found  in  every  grade,  especially  among  the 
industrious  citizens,  the  well-doing  yeomanry,  a  portion  of  the  clergy, 
and  not  a  few  men  of  the  highest  rank  and  station.    It  was  natural 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WOnKS.  XXxiii 

that  not  only  courtiers,  and  ambassadors  from  other  countries,  Imt 
preachers  of  the  dai/,  should  often  p;ive  jiictiires  of  English  soeiety  in 
their  writings.  Such  pictures  are  intcrestiiii,'  :is  an  essential  part  of 
history,  enabling  us  to  form  a  correct  judgment  of  the  real  state  of 
parties  at  the  breaking  out,  during  the  continuance,  and  at  the  end 
of  the  civil  wars.  To  the  Christians  of  the  present  day,  they  are  of 
peculiar  value,  for  enabling  us  to  estimate  the  moral  progress  of  the 
nation  which  has  resulted  from  the  diffusion  of  those  principles,  both 
political  and  religious,  which  have  been  branded  by  their  enemies 
on  the  one  hand,  and  honoured  by  their  friends  on  the  other,  as  the 
Puritanism  of  our  forefathers. 

"  In  the  infancy  of  the  world  God's  blows  were  most  [mostly] 
outward;  in  this  ripe  (or  rather  rotten)  age  of  it,  they  are  most 
[mostly]  inward  and  spiritual.  We  have  no  bears  to  devour  the 
mockers,  no  fiery  serpents  to  strike  the  murmurers  ;  God's  punish- 
ments reach  most  to  the  conscience  :  a  sensual  and  senseless  heart, 
■without  apprehension  of  God's  incensed  anger,  not  made  of  pene- 
trable stuff.  If  God's  finger  touch  the  body,  we  groan  under  the 
weight :  let  his  whole  hand  lie  on  the  soul,  we  feel  nothing.  If  this 
bo  not  our  burden  and  misery,  what  is?  Like  curious  visiters, 
■svill  ye  not  believe  this  age  to  labour  of  this  sickness,  unless  you 
behold  some  symptoms.  Let  your  eyes  take  notice,  and  that  not 
without  grief  of  soul,  of  the  deadncss  of  heart  among  us.  We  ply 
the  world  hard,  dally  with  religion.  We  serve  God  in  jest,  our- 
selves with  all  respect  and  earnest.  Our  devotions  are  like  winter, 
frosty,  misty,  and  windy,  of  many  natures,  none  other  than  cold. 
Nothing  arms,  charms,  and  confirms  our  senses  with  attention, 
spirits  with  intention,  active  powers  with  contention,  but  vanity. 
Are  not  the  benches  in  taverns  and  theatres  often  well  replenished, 
when  these  seats  are  thin  and  almost  empty  ?  Are  not  the  alleys 
in  this  temple  oftener  full  of  walkers  than  the  quire  of  petitioners? 
Conference  with  the  profane,  ostentation  of  clothes,  perhaps  plots  of 
mischief,  as  frequent  as  suits  to  God :  (making  it  a  little  less  than 
a  den  of  thieves).  If  men  stumble  into  the  church  as  company, 
custom,  recreation,  or  (perchance)  slee.])  invites  many,  they  feed 
their  eyes  with  vanities ;  if  any  drops  he  admitted  in  their  ears, 
they  are  entertained  under  the  nature  of  conceits.  Judgments 
(they  think)  be  none  of  their  lessons  ;  they  will  not  suffer  their  con- 
sciences to  apply  them.  Mercies  they  challenge  and  own,  though 
they  have  no  right  to  them.  If  this  estate  be  not  a  misery,  burden  ; 
judgment  there  is  none.  The  fire  of  the  pestilence  is  well  quenched  ; 
the  rumoms  and  storms  of  war  are  laid ;  the  younger  brother  of 

c 


XXXtV  INTEODUCTIOV  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS. 

death,  famine,  doth  not  tyrannize  over  ns.  But  here  it  is  our  sins 
and  God's  wrath  (for  them)  meet,  and  the  heart  is  hardened.  This 
is  the  sorest  judgment.  Let  me  speak  a  paradox,  but  a  truth : 
it  is  the  plague  of  many  that  they  are  not  plagued  ;  even  this  is 
their  punishment — the  want  of  punishment ;  and  the  hand  of  God 
is  then  heaviest  when  it  is  lightest,  heaviest  on  the  conscience  whea 
it  is  lightest  on  the  carcass.  It  is  true  of  them  what  the  philoso- 
pher said  of  himself,  thei/  are  undone,  that  they  are  not  undone.  God 
suffers  their  bodies  to  possess,  and  to  be  possessed  of,  rest ;  they 
sing  to  viols,  dance  their  measures,  their  heads  ache  not,  much  less 
their  consciences.  But  (as  to  Israel,  fat  with  the  quails)  God 
withal  sends  leanness  into  their  souls.  The  present  indulgence  gives 
sufficient  argument  of  future  woes.  They  surfeit  on  pleasures  till 
death  puts  them  out  of  breath.  That  worthy  father,  Augustine, 
saw  this,  their  (self-commanded)  estate,  and  prayed  against  it : — 
'  Lord,  here  plague,  cut,  massacre  me,  burn  me,  so  that  for  ever,  tliou 
wilt  spare  and  save  me.'  This  is  the  most  grievous  burden.  Se- 
curity is  the  very  suburbs  of  hell.  There  is  nothing  more  -wretched 
than  a  wretched  man  that  recks  not  his  own  misery.  An  insensible 
heart  is  the  devil's  anvil ;  he  fashioneth  all  sins  on  it ;  and  the  blows 
are  not  felt.  We  flow  with  those  sins'  to  which  no  following  pos- 
terity will  ever  be  able  to  add :  so  spreading  an  infection  of  sin 
among  us,  that,  as  in  a  great  plague,  we  wonder  not  so  much  at  them 
that  die,  as  at  them  which  scape ;  so  there  is  nothing  a  wonder,  a 
mirror,  a  miracle  in  nature,  but  he  that  lives  unspotted  of  this  world. 
If  you  think  I  speak  too  bitterly,  I  would  to  God  it  were  not  worse 
than  I  speak.  I  would  your  reformation  might  convince  us  of 
shame,  and  give  us  cause  to  recant  this  in  the  pulpit.  We  load 
God  with  our  sins,  and  press  him  as  a  cart  ^vith  sheaves ; — we  pack 
up  a  bundle  of  lies,  blasphemies,  adulteries,  perjuries,  extortions, 
frauds,  and  then  hasten  to  the  cross  of  Christ  to  unload  them,  as 
if  pressing  our  souls  to  hell  with  w41ful  sins  ;  yet  Christ,  on  the 
least  warning,  must  ease  us.  But,  the  promise  is — not  to  men  laden 
with  sins,  but  with  sorrow  for  sins.  It  is  such  a  load  as  must  make 
US  weary,  or  we  have  no  promise  to  be  eased.  But,  alas,  sin  (which 
is  burden  enough  to  sink  the  world)  is  made  light  by  custom.  .  .  . 
How  many  have  incurvate  and  oppressed  souls,  bowed  down  with 
the  spirit  of  infirmity  (nay  of  rank  iniquity)  more  than  eighteen 
years,  that  are  not  yet  sensible  of  their  own  crookedness,  nor  the 
cause  thereof !  For  it  cannot  be  but  the  devoured  patrimonies  ot 
many  orphans — the  ruins  and  depopulation  of  tovrns — the  devasta- 
tion of  holy  things,  should  be  burdens  too  heavy  for  a  poor  crazy 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS.  XXXV 

soul  to  Stand  under ;  piles  of  usury  heavier  than  Etna,  burdens  of 
bribes  outbalancing  the  axle-tree,  are  more  than  the  giants — theo- 
machoi — monsters  of  men.  and  prodigies  of  nature,  were  able  to 
bear.  We  could  not  see  a  corrupted  lawyer,  citizen,  cormorant,  go 
so  nimbly,  if  they  had  not  some  help.  Here  it  is.  Tlie  strong 
man  Satan  (so  it  pleaseth  Christ  to  term  him),  puts  under  his 
shoulder,  and  makes  the  vessel  go  tight  and  easy,  with  an  equal 
balance,  which  could  not  else  swim  upon  the  waters  without  sink- 
ing. Pride  could  not  else  carry  a  whole  township  on  his  back, 
which  his  father  Covetousness  had  (but  newly)  devastate,  clamber- 
ing up  to  honour  (as  Jonathan  the  garrison  of  the  Philistines,  by 
the  raggedness  of  those  two  rocks  Bozez  and  Seneh,  so  these)  by 
the  desolation  of  our  two  main  rocks — the  Church  and  the  Common- 
wealth. The  unmerciful  monopolies  of  courtiers — the  unreasonable 
prices  of  merchants — the  hoards  (if  not  transportation)  of  grain 
with  cormorants — the  advantages  made  of  the  poor's  necessities, 
unconscionable  fines,  and  rents,  wringing  the  last  penny  from  their 
purses,  and  drop  of  blood  from  their  hearts, — an  intolerable  weight ! 
These  wretches  were  never  able  to  bear  it  without  the  aid  of  the 
devil,  who,  while  they  draw  with  him  in  the  same  yoke,  is  content 
to  bear  all  the  burden.  At  last,  when  Presumption  hath  left  the 
stage,  and  Desperation  begins  to  knit  up  all  with  a  direful  catas- 
trophe, the  pulses  beating  slowly,  the  head  aching  vehemently,  body 
and  soul  refusing  all  proffered  comfort,  then  the  devil  casts  the 
whole  load  on  them,  that  at  once  they  may  despair  and  die ;  then, 
that  which  was  lighter  than  corks  or  feathers,  becomes  heavier  than 
lead  and  earth.  God  hath  often  striven  with  them  by  his  word. 
They  would  never  yield, — Thou  shall  overcome,  0  Lord— now 
(perhaps  with  Julian,  too  late)  they  pant  out — '  Thou  hast  over- 
come .' '  Our  crying  in  the  day  could  not  wake  them.  That  cry 
at  midnight  shall  fetch  them  up,  with  the  burden  of  envy,  covetousness, 
drunkenness,  &c. ;  and,  as  it  was  doomed  to  Babylon, — Look,  how 
much  her  glory  and  pleasure  hath  been,  give  her  so  muck  torment  and 
sorrow.  Nay,  then  the  devil  gets  up  too  (like  a  merciless  jailor) , 
with  the  addition  of  his  own  weight,  to  aggravate  their  woes." 

The  following  pithy  and  sarcastic  passage  throws  much  light  on 
the  loving  behaviour  of  the  sons  of  the  Church  of  England  to  their 
mother,  half  a  century  before  the  '  Grand  Rebellion.' 

" — This  is  godliness — to  be  at  cost  with  God.  Therefore,  our 
fathers  left  behind  them  pledges,  evidences,  sure  testimonies  of  their 
religion  in  honouring  Christ  with  their  riches.    (I  mean  not  those 


XXXvi  ISTRODTICTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS. 

in  the  days  of  Popery  ;  but  before  even  the  locUBts  of  the  Papal  See 
made  our  nation  drunk  with  that  enchanted  cup.)  They  thought 
it  no  waste,  either  to  Iniild  new  monuments  to  Christ's  honour,  or 
to  better  the  old  ones.  We  may  say  of  them,  as  Rome  bragged  of 
Augustus  C'jesar, — what  they  fuund  of  brick,  they  left  marble  ;  in 
imitation  of  that  precedent  in  Isaiah  (ix.  10),  though  with  houestcr 
hearts  : — '  The  bricks  are  fallen  down,  but  we  will  build  with  hewn 
stones ;  the  sycamores  are  cut  down,  but  we  will  cliange  them  into 
cedars.' — In  those  days,  charity  to  the  Church  was  not  counted 
waste.  The  people  of  England,  devout  like  tho.se  of  Israel,  cried 
one  to  another,  '  Bring  ye  into  God's  house,'  till  they  were  staid 
with  a  statute  of  Mortmain,  like  Moses'  prohibition,  they  bring  too 
much.  But  now  they  change  a  letter  (aj/ferte  for  a/Terte) ,  and  cry 
'Take  away,' as  fast  as  they  gave;  and  no  inhibition  of  God  or 
Moses,  gospel  or  statute,  can  restrain  their  violence,  till  the  ala- 
baster box  be  as  empty  of  oil  as  their  own  consciences  are  of 
grace.  We  need  not  stint  your  devotion,  but  your  devoration. 
Every  contribution  to  God's  service  is  held  waste.  Now,  any  re- 
quired ornament  to  the  Church  is  held  waste,  but  the  swallowing 
down  (I  say  not  of  ornaments,  as  of  things  better  spared,  but)  of 
necessary  maintenance.  Tithes,  fruit-offerings,  all  are  too  little. 
Gentlemen  in  these  cold  countries  have  very  good  stomachs.  They 
can  devour  (and  digest  too)  three  or  four  plump  parsonages.  In 
Italy,  Spain,  and  those  hot  countries  (or  else  nature  and  experience 
too,  lies) ,  a  temporal  man  cannot  swallow  a  morsel  or  bit  of  spiritual 
preferment,  but  it  is  reluctant  in  his  stomach,  up  it  comes  again ; 
surely  these  northern  countries,  coldly  situate,  and  nearer  to  the 
tropic,  [north  pole,  perhaps]  have  greater  appetites  ?  The  Afri- 
cans think  the  Spaniards  gluttons;  the  Spaniards  think  so  of  the 
Frenchman ;  Frenchmen,  and  all,  think  and  say  so  of  Englishmen  ; 
for  they  devour  whole  churches,  and  they  have  fed  so  liberally,  that 
the  poor  servitors  (ashamed  I  am  to  call  them  so) ,  the  vicars,  have 
scarce  enough  left  to  keep  life  and  soul  together,  not  so  much  as  tiie 
defence  of  hunger,  and  thirst,  and  cold  requires.  Your  fathers 
thought  many  acres  of  ground  well  bestowed  ;  you  think  the  tithe 
of  those  acres  a  waste.  Oppression  hath  played  the  Judas  witii 
the  church,  and,  because  he  would  prevent  the  sins  incurable  by  our 
fulness  of  liro.id,  hath  scarce  left  us  bread  to  feed  upon  ;  Daniel's 
diet  uniong  tlie  lions,  or  Elias'  in  the  wilderness.  I  will  not  cen- 
sure //'"'  ill  this,  VI'  citizens.  Let  it  be  your  praise,  that  though 
V(.'u  liwill  in  II //a/  hd'ims  yourselves,  you  let  not  God's  house  /<« 


ISTKOnUCTTflN  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS.  XXXvii 

waste.  Yet  sometimes  it  is  found  that  some  of  ym/,  so  careful 
in  the  city,  are  as  negligent  in  tlic  country,  where  your  lanils 
lie,  and  there  the  temples  are  often  tlie  ruins  of  your  oppres- 
sion. Your  poor,  undone,  blood-suoked  tenants  not  beiog 
able  to  repair  the  windows  or  thi'  h'ads,  to  keoj)  out  raiti  or 
'lirds:  If  a  levy  or  taxation  would  force  your  lirncvolence,  it 
comes  malevolently  from  you  with  a  '  ^^'hy  is  tliis  waste'.''  Kaise 
a  contribution  to  a  lecture ;  a  collection  for  a  Hrc  ;  an  alms  to 
a  poor  destitute  soul,  and  lightly  there  is  one  Jurlas  iu  the  con- 
gregation to  cry — W/iiJ  is  tins  waste?  Yet  you  will  say,  '  If  Christ 
stood  in  need  of  an  unction,  though  as  costly  as  JIary  s,  you  would 
not  grudge  it,  nor  think  it  lost.'  Cozen  not  yourselves,  ye  hypo- 
crites. If  ye  will  not  do  it  to  his  Church,  to  his  poor  ministers,  to 
his  poor  members,  neither  would  you  to  Oirist.  If  you  clothe  not 
them,  neither  would  you  clothe  Christ,  if  he  stood  naked  at  your 
doors." 

"  Our  slavery  to  epicurism  is  great  in  these  days.. ..We  sa- 
crifice to  our  palates  as  to  gods ;  the  rich  feast,  the  poor  fast ;  the 
dogs  dine,  the  poor  pine." 

The  skilful  detection  of  motives  and  character  hidden  under  the 
disguises  of  religious  pretension,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  at- 
tributes of  this  writer. 

The  sermon  preached  at  Paul's  Cross,  March  7,  1612,  is  on 
John  xii.  6 — "  This  he  said,  not  that  he  cared  for  the  poor  ;  but  be- 
cause he  was  a  thief,  and  had  the  barj,  and  bare  what  was  put  there- 
in. I  am  to  speak  of  Judas,  a  devil  by  the  testimony  of  our  Sa- 
viour — Have  I  not  chosen  you  ticelve,  and  one  of  you  is  a  deoil  1  Yet 
so  transformed  into  a  show  of  sanctimony,  that  he  who  was  a  devil 
in  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  seemed  an  angel  in  the  deceived  judg- 
ment of  his  fellow-apostles.  A  devil  he  was — black  within,  and  full 
of  rancour,  but  white  without,  and  skinned  over  with  hypocrisy ; 
therefore,  to  use  Luther's  words,  we  will  call  him  '  Tue  White 
Devil.'  Even  here  he  discovers  himself,  and  makes  good  this 
title.  Consider  the  occasion  thus  :  Christ  was  now  at  supper  among 
his  friends,  where  every  one  shewed  him  several  kindness.  Among 
the  rest,  Mary  pours  on  him  a  box  of  ointment.  Take  a  short  view 
of  this  affection.  1.  She  gave  a  precious  unction,  spikenard. 
Judas  valued  it  at  three  hundred  pence,  which,  after  the  best  com- 
putation, is  with  us  above  eight  pounds,  as  if  she  could  not  be  too 
prodigal  in  her  love.  2.  She  gave  him  a  whole  pound  (verse  3d). 
She  did  not  cut  him  out  her  devotion  by  piecemeal  nor  remnant 


xxxviii  rimiODUCTios  to  adams'  works. 

nor  serve  God  by  the  ounce  ;  but  she  gave  all !  For  quality,  pre- 
cious ;  for  quantit)-,  the  whole  pound.  Oh  that  our  service  to  God 
were  answerable  !  We  rather  give  one  ounce  to  lust,  a  second  to 
pride,  a  third  to  malice,  &c.,  so  dividing  the  whole  jxiund  to  the 
devil ;  she  gave  all  to  Christ.  3.  To  omit  her  anointing  his  feet, 
and  wiping  them  with  the  hair  of  her  head,  wherein  her  humility 
and  zeal  met :  his  feet,  as  unworthy  to  touch  his  head :  with  her 
hair,  as  if  her  chief  ornament  was  but  good  enough  to  honour  Christ 
witlial — the  beauty  of  her  head  to  serve  Christ's  feet.  She  brake  tite 
box ;  and  tliis  of  no  worse  than  alabaster  ;  that  Christ  might  have 
the  last  remaining  drop  ;  and  the  whole  house  was  jillcd  u  ilh  tJie 
odour.  At  this  repines  J  udas,  pretending  the  poor,  for  he  was 
WHITE ;  intending  his  profit,  for  he  was  a  devil. 

"  In  Judas'  censure  of  Mary,  many  things  are  observable  to  his 
shame — our  instruction. ...Observe  that  Saint  John  lays  this  fault 
on  Judas  only  ;  but  Saint  Matthew  and  Saiat  Mark  charge  the  dis- 
ciples with  it,  and  find  them  guilty  of  this  repining,  and  that  in  both, 
not  without  indignation.  This  knot  is  easily  untied.  Judas  was 
the  ringleader,  and  his  voice  was  the  voice  of  Jacob,  all  charitable ; 
but  his  hands  were  tlie  hands  of  Esau,  rough  and  injurious.  Judas 
pleads  for  the  poor ;  the  whole  synod  likes  the  motion  well ;  they 
second  it  with  their  verdicts ;  their  words  agree,  but  their  spirits 
dififer.  Judas  had  a  further  reach,  to  distil  the  ointment,  through 
the  alembic  of  hypocrisy,  into  his  own  purse  ;  the  apostles  mean 
plainly.  Judas  was  malicious  against  his  Master ;  they  simply 
thought  the  poor  had  more  need.  So  sensible  and  ample  a  difference 
do  circumstances  put  into  one  and  the  same  action  :  presumption  cr 
weakness,  knowledge  or  ignorance,  simplicity  or  craft,  do  much  ag- 
gravate or  mitigate  an  offence.  The  apostles  consent  to  the  circum- 
stance, not  to  the  substance,  setting  their  hands,  as  it  were,  to  a 
blank  paper.  It  was  in  them  pity,  rather  than  piety  ;  in  Judas 
neither  pity  nor  piety,  but  plain  perfidy — an  exorbitant  and  trans- 
cendent sin,  that  would  have  brought  innocence  itself  into  the  same 
condemnation  :  thus  the  aggregation  of  circumstances  is  the  aggra- 
vation of  offences.  Consider  his  covetousness,  fraud,  nialice,  hj-po- 
crisy,  and  you  will  see  his  sin  is  monstrous,  sine  modo,  like  a  mathe- 
matical line,  infinitely  divisible.  The  apostles  receive  the  infection, 
but  not  into  so  corrupted  stomachs  ;  therefore,  it  may  make  them 
sick,  not  kill  them.  Sin  they  do,  but  not  unto  death.  It  is  a  true 
rule,  even  in  good  works,  virtues  are  discerned  from  vices,  not  by 
their  offices,  but  by  their  ends  or  intents  :  neither  the  outward  form. 


I 


INTRODnCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS.  XXxix 

no,  nor  (often)  the  event,  is  a  sure  rule  to  meastire  the  action  by.... 
The  same  rule  holds  proportion  in  offences.  Here  they  all  sin  :  the 
apostles,  in  the  imprudence  of  their  censure ;  Judas,  in  the  imprudence 
of  his  rancour.  Judas'  train  soon  took  fire  in  the  suspectless  dis- 
ciples ;  and  Satan's  infections  shoot,  through  some  great  star,  the  in- 
fluence of  damnation  into  the  ear  of  the  commonalty.  Let  the  ex- 
perience hereof  make  us  fearful  of  examples — 

"  Judas  is  bold  to  reprove  a  lawful,  laudable,  allowable  work  :  he 
said  thus.  I  do  not  read  him  so  peremptory  in  a  just  opportunity. 
He  could  swallow  a  gudgeon,  though  he  kicks  at  a  fly.  He  could 
observe,  obey,  flatter  the  compounding  Pharisees,  and  thought  he 
should  get  more  by  licking  than  by  biting.  But  here  his  mouth 
waters  at  the  money.  His  teeth  rankle  the  woman's  credit,  for  so 
I  find  malignant  reprovers  styled.  They  do  not  mend,  liut  make 
worse  :  they  bite,  they  gnaw.  Thus  was  Diogenes  sumamed  Cynic 
for  his  snarling — the  Dog  of  reproaches.  Such  forget  that  mercies 
are  above  menaces.  Many  of  the  Jews,  whom  the  thunders  of 
Sinai,  the  thunders  of  the  law,  moved  not,  John  Baptist  wins 
with  the  songs  of  Zion.  Judas  could  feign  and  favour,  and  fan 
the  cool  wind  of  flattery  on  the  burning  malice  of  the  consulting 
Scribes.  Here  he  is  hot,  sweats  and  swells  without  a  cause. 
Either  he  must  be  unmerciful,  or  over  merciful ;  either  wholly 
for  the  reins,  or  all  upon  the  spur.  He  hath  soft  and  silken  words 
for  his  Master's  enemies ;  coarse  and  rough  for  his  friends.  There 
he  is  a  dumb  dog,  and  finds  no  fault  ;  here  he  is  a  barking  cur,  and 
a  true  man  instead  of  a  thief.  ....  Observe  his  devilish  disposition, 
bent  and  intended  to  stifle  goodness  in  others  that  had  utterly 
choked  it  in  himself.  Is  the  apostle  Judas  a  hinderer  of  godliness? 
Surely  man  hath  not  a  worse  neighbour,  nor  God  a  worse  servant, 
nor  the  devil  a  better  factor,  than  such  a  one — an  ^sop's  dog,  that 
because  he  can  eat  no  hay  himself,  lies  in  the  manger,  and  will  not 
suS'er  the  horse  ;  he  would  be  an  ill  porter  of  heaven  gates,  that 
having  no  lust  [desire]  to  enter  in  himself,  will  not  admit  others. 
Is  it  not  enough  for  thee,  O  Judas,  to  be  a  villain  thyself,  but  thou 
must  also  cross  the  piety  of  others  ?  Hast  thou  spoiled  thyself,  and 
wouldst  thou  also  mar  Mary  ?  Nay,  observe,  he  would  hinder  the 
■works  of  piety  through  colour  of  the  works  of  charity,  diverting 
Mary's  bounty  from  Christ  to  the  poor,  as  if  respect  to  man  should 
take  the  wall  of  God's  service.  Let  not,  then,  O  Judas,  Charity 
shoulder  out  Piety.  Nay,  charity  will  not,  cannot :  for  faith  ivorJc- 
eth  hy  love.  And  Love  never  dined  in  a  conscience,  where  Faith 
had  not  first  broken  her  fast.    Faith  and  Love  are  like  a  pair  of 


Xl  INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  W0EK8. 

compasses ;  whilst  Faith  stands  perfectly  fixed  in  the  centre,  which 
is  God,  Love  walks  the  round,  and  puts  a  pirdlc  of  mercy  ahont 
the  loins.  There  may  indeed  lie  a  show  of  charity  without  faith  ; 
but  there  ean  lie  no  sl)0\v  of  faith  without  charity.    Man  judgeth 

h}'  the  hand,  God  liy  the  heai  t   Lastly,  ohser*-e  his  unkindness 

to  Christ.  What!  Judas,  grudf;o  thy  Master  a  little  unction? 
and  (which  is  yet  viler)  from  another's  purse  ?  AVith  what  de- 
traction, derision,  exclamation,  wouldst  thou  have  permitted  this 
to  thy  fellow-servant,  that  repinest  it  to  thy  Master  !  How  hardly 
had  this  been  derived  from  thy  own  estate,  that  didst  not  tolerate 
it  from  Mary's  !  AVhat !  thy  Jlaster,  that  honoured  thee  with 
Christianity — praecd  thee  with  apostleship — trusted  thee  with 
stcwanl^liip — wilt  thou  deny  him  this  courtesy,  and  without 
thine  own  c^jst  V  Thy  blaster,  Judas  !  thy  Friend !  thy  God ! 
and  yet,  in  a  sweeter  note,  thy  Saviour  !  And  canst  not  endure 
another's  frratuital  kindness  to  him  ?  Shall  he  pour  forth  the  best 
unction  of  his  blood,  to  bathe  and  comfort  thy  body  and  soul,  and 
thou  not  allow  him  a  little  refection?  Hath  Christ  hungered, 
thirsted,  fainted,  sweat,  and  must  he  instantly  bleed  and  die,  and  is 
he  denied  a  little  unction  ?  And  dost  ihov,  Judas,  grudge  it  ?  It 
had  come  more  tolerably  from  any  mouth — his  friend,  his  follower, 
his  professor,  his  apostle,  his  steward  !  Unkind,  unnatural,  unjust, 
unmerciful  Judas!" 

Few  writers  are  equal  to  this  author  in  the  rich,  quaint,  and 
overwhelming  abundance  of  imagery  with  which  he  paints  the  cha- 
racters of  men.  Here  is  one  specimen.  Speaking  of  Esau,  as  a 
ma)i  of  the  _fic!cl,  he  says  : — "  There  was  his  sport ;  there  was  his 
heart.  Therefore  did  Isaac  love  Esau,  because  he  did  eat  of 
his  venison.  He  loved  his  venison,  not  his  conditions.  Some 
would  read  it  thus,  '  btcaiisc  venison  tras  in  his  mouth,'  and  so  turn 
his  hunting  into  a  metaphor,  as  if  by  insinuation  he  had  wound 
himself  into  the  favour  of  Isaac.  But  the  other  reading  is  better, 
saving  that,  by  the  \vay,  we  may  give  a  reprehension  to  such 
mouth-hunters.  If  you  would  know  who  they  are,  they  are  the 
flatterers,  of  whom  we  may  say,  as  huntsmen  of  their  dogs,  they 
are  well-mouthed,  or  rather  ill-mouthed  ;  for  an  ordinary  dog's  bit- 
ing doth  not  ranlde  so  soon  as  their  licking.  Of  all  dogs  they  are 
best  liked  to  spaniels  ;  but  they  have  a  more  venomous  tongue. 
They  will  fawn,  and  fleer,  and  leap  up,  and  kiss  their  master's 
hand  ;  but  all  this  while  they  do  but  hunt  him,  and  if  they  can 
spring  on  liira  at  once,  you  shall  hear  them  quest  instantly,  and 
either  present  hun  to  the  falcon,  or  worry  and  prey  on  him  them- 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAHS'  WORKf!.  xli 

selves,  perhaps  not  so  much  for  himself  as  for  his  feathtTS.  For 
they  love,  not  Dominos  but  Dominorum,  not  their  master's  </ood, 
but  their  master's  r/oods. 

"  The  golden  ass,  got  into  sumptuous  trappings,  thinks  he  hath  as 
many  friends  as  he  hath  beasts  coming  about  him.  One  commends 
his  snout  for  fairer  than  the  lion's;  another,  his  skin  for  richer 
tlian  the  leopard's  ;  another,  his  foot  for  swifter  than  the  hart's  ;  a 
fourth,  his  teeth,  for  whiter  and  more  precious  than  the  elephant's  ; 
another  his  breath,  for  sweeter  than  the  civet  beast's  ;  and  it  is 
wonder  if  some  do  not  make  him  believe  he  hath  horns,  and  those 
stronger  than  the  bull's,  and  more  virtual  than  the  unicorn's.  All 
this,  while  thcvdo  but  bunt  him  for  his  trapjiings  :  uncase  him,  and 
you  shall  have  them  bafne  and  kick  him  !  Tliis  doth  Sulouiun  in- 
sinuate (Prov.  xix.  4)  :  Riches  ijatlur  mam/  friends  ;  Imt  the  poor 
is  separetted  from  liis  iieif/hfjaur.  lie  saitb  not  the  rich  man,  but 
riches.    It  is  the  money,  not  the  man,  tlicy  hunt. 

"  The  great  one  bristles  up  himself,  and  conceits  himself  higher  by 
the  head  than  all  the  rest ;  and  is  i}roiid  of  many  friends.  Alas, 
these  dogs  do  but  hunt  the  bird  of  parailise  for  bis  feathers.  These 
wasps  do  but  hover  about  the  gally-pot,  because  there  is  honey  in  It. 
The  proud  fly,  sitting  upon  the  ebariot-whcel,  which,  hurried  with 
violence,  hufl'ed  up  the  sand,  gave  out  that  it  was  she  whieli  made 
all  that  glorious  dust.  The  ass,  carrying  the  Egyjitian  goddess, 
swelled  with  the  ojjinion  that  all  those  crouches,  cringes,  and 
obeisances  were  made  to  him  ;  b\it  it  is  the  case,  not  the  carcass, 
they  gape  for.  So  may  the  chased  stag  boast  how  many  hounds  he 
hath  attending  him.  They  attend,  indeed,  as  ravens,  a  dying  beast. 
Acteon  found  the  kind  truth  of  their  attendance.  They  run  away, 
as  spiders  from  a  decaying  house  ;  or  as  the  cuckoo,  they  sing  a 
scurvy  note  for  a  month  in  summer,  and  are  gone  in  June  or  Jul}', 
sure  enough  before  the  fall.  These  hunters  are  gone  ;  let  them  go; 
for  they  have  brought  me  a  little  from  the  strictness  and  directness 
of  my  intended  speech.  But  as  a  physician,  coming  to  the  cure, 
doth  sometimes  receive  some  of  his  patient's  infection,  so  have  I 
been  led  to  hunt  a  little  wide  to  find  out  these  cunnin;/  hunters." 

To  some  readers  fond  of  curious  learning,  and  quaint  scorn  of 
errors  and  pretences  that  have  faded  before  the  light  of  advancing 
knowledge,  it  cannot  but  be  amusing  to  see  how,  more  than  two 
hundred  years  ago,  a  man  of  wit  and  genius  dealt  with  astrologers 
and  the  folly  of  prognostieators.  "  Commend  me  here  to  all  Geneth- 
liaes,  casters  of  nativities,  star-worshippers,  by  this  token  that  they 
are  all  impostors,  and,  here,  proud  fools.    Here  be  twins  conceived 


xlii  INTBODCOTION  TO  ADAUS'  TTOHKS. 

together,  born  together,  yet  of  as  different  natures  and  qualities  as 
if  a  vast  local  distance  had  sundered  their  births,  or  as  if  the  ori- 
ginary  blood  of  enemies  had  run  in  their  veins.  It  is  Saint  Augus- 
tine's preclusion  of  all  star  predictions  out  of  this  place.  And  since 
I  am  fallen  upon  these  figure  casters,  I  will  be  bold  to  cast  the 
destiny  of  their  profession,  and  honestly  lay  open  their  juggling  in 
six  arguments. 

"  1.  The  falsehood  of  their  Ephemerides. 

"  Perhaps  when  some  appoint  rain  on  such  a  day,  some  frost,  some 
snow,  others  wind,  or  calm  and  fair  weather ;  some  of  these  may 
hit.  l!ut,  lighth-,  he  that  against  his  knowledge,  told  true  to-day, 
lies  to-morrow ;  and  he  that  lied  yesterday,  may  happen  right  next 
day;  as  a  blind  archer  may  kill  a  crow.  For  this  cause  (I  think) 
some  were  called  erring  or  wandering  stars,  not  so  much  because 
they  were  uncertain  in  their  own  seats  and  motions,  as  because  they 
caused  to  err  their  clients  and  gaping  inquisitors.  And  so  they  are 
called  erring  in  the  same  phrase  and  sense  as  Death  is  called  pnle  ; 
not  that  it  is  pale  in  itself,  but  because  it  maketh  those  pale  it 
seizeth  on. 

"  Therefore  some  of  the  subtler  have  delivered  their  opinions  in 
such  spurious,  enigmatical,  dilogical  terms,  as  the  devil  gave  his 
oracles,  that  since  heaven  will  not  follow  their  instructions,  their 
constructions  shall  follow  heaven.  And  because  the  weather  hath 
not  fallen  out  as  they  have  before  told,  they  will  now  tell  us  that 
the  weather  falls  so,  that,  reading  their  books,  you  would  think,  as 
the  beggars  have  their  canting,  they  had  got  a  new  language  out  of 
the  elements  which  the  poor  Earth  never  did  understand  ;  and  it  is 
thought  that  canting  is  the  better  language,  because  it  is  not  so 
ambitious  as  to  meddle  with  the  stars  ;  whereof  the  prognosticator's 
head  comes  as  short,  as  his  tongue  doth  of  the  beggar's  eloquence- 

"2.  The  state  of  fortune-tellers  and  prophecy -usurpers,  which  is 
not  only  poor  and  beggarly  (as  if  the  envious  Earth  refused  to  re- 
lieve those  that  could  fetch  their  living  out  of  the  stars),  but  also 
ridiculous.  This  is  not  all ;  but  they  are  utterly  ignorant  of  their 
own  destinies.  Now,  he  that  is  a  fool  for  himself,  how  should  he  be 
wise  for  others  ?  Thracias  the  soothsayer,  in  the  nine  years'  drought 
of  Egypt,  came  to  Busiris  the  tyrant,  and  told  him  that  Jupiter's 
wrath  might  be  appeased  by  sacrificing  the  blood  of  a  stranger. 

"  The  tyrant  asked  him  what  countrj-man  he  was — of  Egypt,  or  an 
alien?    He  told  him,  a  stranger. 

"  Thou,  quoth  the  tyrant,  art  that  lucky  guest,  whose  blood  shall 
wet  our  soil,  and  give  us  rest. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS.  xliii 

"  But  I  have  spent  too  much  breath  about  this  folly  of  prog- 

nosticators,  of  whom  it  may  be  said  that  not  only  the  children  of 
this  world  are  wiser  in  their  generation  than  the  childi-en  of  light,  but 
they  would  be  wiser  than  the  light  itself.  They  would  know  more 
than  saints  and  angels,  and  search  out  the  uninvestigahle  things  of 
the  Lord.  If  they  could  foresee  future  things,  they  would  brag  them- 
selves equal  to  God.   But  secret  things  belong  to  God,  revealed  to  lis. 

"  The  other  is  both  arrogant  in  man  and  derogant  to  God.  And 
Gregory  says  well :  '  If  such  a  star  be  a  man's  destiny,  then  is  man 
made  for  the  stars,  and  not  the  stars  for  man.'  The  devils  know 
not  future  events,  and  will  these  boast  it?" 

As  a  writer  of  sermons,  it  may  not  be  unimportant  to  notice  the 
ingenuity  with  which  this  author  opens  his  subject,  and  arranges 
his  illustrations.  On  1  Pet.  iv.  19 — Let  them  that  suffer  according 
to  the  will  of  God,  commit  the  keeping  of  their  souls  to  him  in  well- 
doing,  as  unto  a.  faithful  Creator — he  thus  begins  : 

"  A  true  Christian's  life  is  one  day  of  three  meals,  and  every 
meal  hath  in  it  two  courses.  His  first  meal  is  to  be  born  a  sinner, 
and  to  be  new  born  a  saint.  /  was  born  in  iniquity,  and  in  sin  did 
my  mother  conceive  me :  there  is  one  course.  '  Except  a  man  be 
bom  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God :'  there  is  the  other 
course.  His  second  meal  is,  to  do  well  and  to  suffer  ill.  '  Do  good 
unto  all,  but  especially  unto  those  that  are  of  the  household  of  faith  :' 
there's  one  course,  of  doing.  All  that  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus 
shall  suffer  persecution :  there's  the  other  course,  of  suffering.  The 
third  meal  is,  to  die  a  temporal  death,  to  live  an  eternal  life.  The 
first  is  his  breakfast,  and  herein  he  is  naturally  born  in  sin,  and  con- 
demned for  sin  ;  spiritually,  born  again  in  righteousness,  and  justi- 
fied from  sin.  The  last  is  his  supper,  wherein  there  is  one  bitter 
dish — Death  :  It  is  appointed  to  all  men  once  to  die  ;  to  all  once,  to 
many  twice ;  for  there  is  a  second  death,  and  that  is  truly  a  death, 
because  it  is  the  death  of  life  ;  the  other  rather  a  life,  for  it  is  the 
death  of  death,  after  which  there  shall  be  no  more  death.  There- 
fore, rise  that  you  may  not  fall ;  rise  now,  by  a  righteous  life,  lest 
you  fall  into  an  everlasting  death.  If  the  soul  will  not  now  rise,  the 
body  shall  one  day  be  raised,  and  go  with  the  soul  to  judgment. 
The  second  course  is  incomparably  sweet — to  live  after  death.  I 
say  after  death  ;  for  a  man  must  die  that  he  may  live  :  so  that  a 
good  supper  brings  a  good  sleep.  He  that  lives  well  shall  sleep 
well.  He  that  now  apprehends  mercy,  mercy  shall  hereafter  com- 
prehend him.  Mercy  is  the  last  end  ;  no  hope  beyond  it :  and  this 
is  the  time  for  it ;  the  next  is  of  justice.    The  middle  meal  between 


Xliv  IXTItODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WOKKS. 

both  these  is  our  dinner  ;  and  tliat  consists  in  doing  good  and  suffer- 
ing evil.  Anil  on  these  two  courses  my  text  spreads  itself.  First, 
they  that  su  ffer  according  to  the  tci/l  of  fjod, — there's  the  passion. 
Secondly,  they  may  trust  God  vith  their  souls  in  well-doiiiij, — there's 
the  action.  More  particularly,  in  the  words  we  may  consider  five 
gradual  circumstances. 

"  1.  The  sufferance  of  the  saints ;  they  that  su  ffer.  2.  The  inte- 
grity of  this  sufferance ;  according  to  the  will  of  God.  3.  The  com- 
forts of  tliis  intefjrity  ;  maij  commit  their  souls  to  God.  4.  The  bold- 
ness ol  tliis  conifurt  ;  as  unto  a  faithful  Creator.  5.  The  canrion  of 
tliis  l)(il(lncss  ;  in  ircU-doing.  ...  It  is  the  part  of  a  Christian  to 
suffer  wlu'rcsoevi  r  he  is  ;  let  him  expect  it.  Adam  was  set  upon  in 
I'aradise  ;  J ob  in  the  dunghill.  J ob  was  more  strong  to  resist  temi>- 
tatiuns  in  the  miserable  dust,  than  was  Adam  in  that  glorious  gar- 
den. Tlie  Jews  were  commanded  to  eat  sour  herbs  with  their 
sweet  passover.  Bitterness  ever  treads  on  the  heels  .of  pleasure. 
Jacob  hath  a  son,  .md  loseth  his  wife  :  Benjamin  is  bom,  Rachel 
dies.  Our  Lady,  coming  from  that  great  feast,  lost  her  son  Jesus 
three  days.  Seven  days  slie  bad  eaten  sweet  bread  ;  here  followed 
three  days'  sour  bread  f^r  it.     Good  things  are  to  be  taken  with 

much  thankfulness  ;  evil  with  much  patience  Sudden  crosses  find 

weak  souls  secure  ;  leave  them  miserable  ;  make  them  desperate.  A 
looked-for  evil  suuirts  more  gently.  Unexpected  joys  are  more 
gracious  ;  but  unexpected  evils  are  more  grievous.  Mischiefs  come 
most  commonly  without  warning.  They  do  not  allow,  as  Jonas  did 
to  Nintveli,  forty  days'  respite  ;  not  so  much  as  an  hoc  nocte — this 
night,  which  was  allowed  to  the  worldling — thi.i  night  shall  they  fetch 
thy  soul  from  thee.  Happy  man,  that  gives  himself  warning.  He 
that  conceits  what  may  be,  arms  himself  against  what  must  be  .  .  . 
Thou  art  at  home  in  peace,  singing  in  thine  ovm  vineyards.  Thou 
sittest  in  a  shock,  secure,  while  thy  reapers  fell  the  humble  com  at 
thy  foot,  and  fill  thy  banis.  What  if,  for  religion,  thou  shouldst 
be  sent  to  exile,  where  thou  mayest  weep,  with  Israel,  to  thy  derid- 
ing enemies,  demanding  a  song  of  Zion — hoxv  shall  I  sing  the  song 
of  joy  in  a  strange  land  ?  How  canst  thou  digest  the  injuries  and 
brook  tlie  contempt  of  strangers  ?  Fear  not  to  be  scourged,  but  to 
be  disinherited. 

"  There  is  so  much  comfort  in  sorrow  as  to  make  all  affliction  to  the 
elect  a  song  in  the  night.  Adversity  sends  us  to  Christ,  as  the  le- 
prosy sent  those  ten.  Prosperity  makes  us  tum  our  backs  upon 
Christ,  and  leave  him,  as  health  did  those  nine  (Luke  xvii.)  Da- 
vid's sweetest  songs  were  his  tears.    In  misery,  he  spared  Said,  his 


INTBODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS.  xlv 

great  adversaiy ;  in  peace,  ho  killed  Uriah,  his  dear  friend.  The 
ivicked  sing  with  grasshoppers,  in  fair  weather  ;  but  the  faithful  (in 
this  like  sirens)  can  sing  in  a  storm.  When  a  man  cannot  find 
peace  upon  earth,  he  quickly  runs  to  heaven  to  seek  it.  Affliction 
sometimes  maketh  an  evil  man  good,  always  a  good  man  better. 

  UjTng,  there  is  no  comfort  hut  to  trust  the  soul  with 

Ciod.  So  said  David,  Lord,  into  thine  hands  I  commend  my  spirit. 
So  .Stephen,  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit.  With  these  words  our 
Lord  Jesus  himself  gave  up  the  ghost.  It  is  justice  to  restore 
whence  we  receive.  It  is  not  presumption,  but  faith,  to  trust  God 
with  thy  spirit.  The  soul  of  the  king,  the  soul  of  the  beggar ;  all 
one  to  him.  David  was  a  king,  Lazarus  was  a  beggar.  God  re- 
ceives both  their  souls.  From  giving  up  the  ghost,  the  highest  is 
not  exempted  ;  from  giving  it  into  the  hands  of  God,  the  poorest  is 
not  excepted.  There  is  no  comfort  like  this.  When  riches  bring 
cither  no  comfort,  or  discomfort ;  when  the  wardrobe,  furniture, 
trinkets,  wine,  offend  thee ;  when  thy  money  cannot  defend  thee ; 
when  thy  doctors  feed  themselves  at  thy  cost,  cannot  feed  thee  ; 
when  wife,  children,  friends,  stand  weeping  about  thee — where  is 
thy  help — thy  hope  ?  All  the  world  hath  not  a  drachm  for  thee. 
This  sweetens  all: — Lord,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  soul; 
iJwu  hast  redeemed  me,  0  thou  God  of  truth  !  Our  spirit  is  our 
dearest  jewel.  Howl  and  lament,  if  thou  think  thy  soul  is  lost. 
But  let  thy  faith  know,  that  is  never  lost  which  is  committed  to 
God's  keeping.  That  soul  must  needs  pass  tluougli  the  gates  of 
death  which  is  in  the  keeping  of  God.  Woe  were  us  if  the  Lord 
did  not  keep  it  for  us  while  we  have  it,  much  more  when  we  restore 
it.  While  our  soul  dwells  in  our  breast,  it  is  subject  to  many  mise- 
ries, to  manifest  sins.  Temptations,  passions,  misdeeds,  distemper 
us.  In  heaven  it  is  free  from  all  these.  Let  the  soul  bo  once  in 
the  hands  of  God,  it  is  neither  disquieted  with  sorrow  for  sin,  nor 
sin,  which  is  beyond  all  sorrow.  There  may  be  trouble  in  the  wil- 
derness ;  in  the  land  of  promise  there  is  all  peace.  Then  may  we 
sing,  '  Our  soul  is  escaped  as  a  bird  out  of  the  snare  of  the  fowler  : 
the  snare  is  broken,  and  we  are  escaped.'  It  is  there  above  the 
reach  of  the  devil.  Tlicre  is  no  evil  admitted  into  the  city  of  hea- 
ven, to  wrestle  with  the  citizens  thereof.  Death  is  ready  at  hand 
about  us.  We  carry  deaths  enow  within  us.  We  know  we  shall 
die.  We  know  not  how  soon.  It  can  never  prevent  us  or  come 
too  early,  if  our  souls  be  in  the  keeping  of  God.  Man  was  not  so 
happy  when  God  gave  his  soul  to  him,  as  he  is  when  he  returns  it 
to  God.  Give  it  cheerfully,  and  then,  hke  a  faithful  Creator,  that 
thou  givest  him  in  short  pain,  he  willgive  thee  back  with  endless  joy. 


Xlvi  INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  W0BK8. 

"   Oh  !  wretched  man  that  most  die,  and  knows  not  what 

sliall  hcfuiiie  of  his  soul.  The  world  would  have  it ;  but  he  knows 
it  must  not.  Himself  would  keep  it,  but  he  knows  he  cannot. 
Satan  would  have  it,  and  he  knows  not  whether  he  shall.  He  would 
have  God  take  it,  and  he  knows  not  whether  he  will !  O  miserable 
luan  !  that  must  part  with  his  soul  he  knows  not  whither." 

i)n  the  ordinary  topics  of  religious  consolation,  we  find  many 
passages  of  great  beauty.  In  a  discourse  on  the  "  Victory  of  Pa- 
tience, "  he  says  : — 

"  Our  patience  is  our  crown,  and  others'  conversion.  Euscbius, 
from  Clement,  reporteth  that  when  a  wretched  accuser  had  brought 
Saint  James  to  condemnation,  seeing  his  Christian  fortitude,  he  was 
FO  touched  in  his  conscience,  confessed  himself  a  Giristian,  so  was 
taken  to  execution  with  him,  where  earnestly  beseeching  Saint 
James  to  forgive  him,  he,  after  a  little  pause,  kissed  him,  and  said — 
Peace  to  thee,  brother !  and  they  were  beheaded  together.  Oh ! 
blessed  patience,  which  not  only  gets  honour  to  ourselves,  but  brings 
others  to  salvation,  and,  in  all,  glorifies  God  !  Prayer.  This  was 
the  apostles'  refuge  in  the  time  of  affliction.  Acts  iv.  24.  Bernard, 
in  a  fiction,  doth  excellently  express  this  necessity,  and  enforce  this 
duty.  He  supposcth  the  kings  of  Babylon  and  Jerusalem  (by  whom 
he  means  the  world  and  the  church)  to  be  at  war  one  against  the 
other.  During  this  hostility,  a  soldier  of  Jerusalem  was  fled  to  the 
castle  of  Justice.  Siege  was  laid  to  this  castle,  and  a  multitude  of 
enemies  environed  and  intrenched  it  round.  There  lies  near  this 
soldier  a  faint-hearted  coward  called  Fear.  This  speaks  nothing 
but  discomfort ;  and  when  Hope  would  step  in  to  give  some  courage, 
Fear  thrusts  her  out  of  doors.  While  these  two  opposites,  Fear 
and  Hope,  stand  debating,  the  Christian  soldier  resolves  to  appeal 
to  the  direction  of  Sacred  Wisdom,  who  was  chief  counsellor  to  the 
captain  of  the  castle.  Justice.  Hear  Wisdom  speak.  Dost  thou 
know,  saith  she,  that  the  God  whom  we  serve  is  able  to  deliver  ns? 
Is  he  not  the  Lord  of  Hosts?  even  the  Lord  mighty  in  battle? 
We  will  despatch  a  messenger  to  him  with  information  of  our  ne- 
cessity. Fear  replies — What  messenger  ?  Darkness  is  on  the 
face  of  the  world.  Our  walls  are  begirt  with  an  armed  troop,  which 
are  not  only  strong  as  lions,  but  also  watchful  as  dragons.  AVhat 
messenger  can  either  escape  through  such  an  host,  or  find  the  way 
into  so  remote  a  country  ?  Wisdom  calls  for  Hope,  and  cliargeth 
her  with  all  speed  to  despatch  away  her  old  messenger.  Hope  calls 
tu  Prayer,  and  says — Lo,  here  a  messenger  speedy,  ready,  trusty, 
knowing  the  way.  Ready ;  you  can  no  sooner  call  her  than  she 
comes.    Speedy;  she  flies  faster  than  eagles,  as  fast  as  angels. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS.  xlvii 

Trusty ;  what  embassage  soever  you  put  in  her  tongue,  she  delivers 
with  faithful  secrecy.  .She  knows  the  way  to  the  throne  of  mercy ; 
and  never  faints  till  she  come  to  the  chamber  of  the  royal  presence. 

"  Prayer  hath  her  message.  Away  she  flies,  borne  on  the  sure  and 
swift  wings  of  Faith  and  Zeal,  Wisdom  having  given  her  a  charge, 
and  Hope  a  blessing.  Finding  the  gate  shut,  she  knocks  and  cries. 
Open,  ye  gates  of  righteousness,  and  be  ye  open,  ye  everlasting 
doors  of  glory !  that  I  may  enter,  and  deliver  to  the  King  of  Jeru- 
salem my  petition.  Jesus  Christ  hears  her  knock,  opens  the  gate 
of  mercy,  attends  her  suit,  promiseth  her  infallible  comfort  and 
redress.  Back  returns  Prayer,  laden  with  the  news  of  consolation. 
She  hath  a  promise,  and  she  delivereth  it  into  the  hands  of  Faith — 
that  were  our  enemies  more  innumerable  than  the  locusts  in  Egypt, 
and  more  strong  than  the  giants  the  sons  of  Anak,  yet  Power 
and  Mercy  shall  fight  for  us,  and  we  shall  be  delivered.  Pass  we 
then  through  fire  and  water — through  all  dangers  and  difficulties, 
yet  we  have  a  messenger  holy,  happy,  accessible,  acceptable  to  God, 
that  never  comes  back  without  comfort — Prayer." 

The  passage  which  Adams  here  borrows  from  Bernard,  is  much 
more  elaborate  and  full,  in  the  composition  of  the  last  of  the  Latin 
Fathers.  It  occurs  in  his  Sermones  de  Puona  Spiritual!,  Ser.  ii., 
the  first  volume  of  the  Paris  edition,  folio  1632,  pp.  422-424.  It 
is  one  of  the  noblest  specimens  of  that  allegorical  treatment  of  spi- 
ritual subjects,  with  which  English  readers  are  so  much  delighted 
in  the  Holy  War  of  Bunyan. 

It  would  be  easy  and  profitable  to  go  on  gathering  extracts 
from  these  old  writings,  with  their  not  unpleasing  quaintness — 
their  briUiant  images — their  burning  rebukes — their  gentle  com- 
fortings — their  clear  expounding  of  Scripture  doctrine  ; — their 
plain  enforcement  of  Christian  duties ; — their  striking  felicities 
of  expression  ; — their  holy  temper  ; — their  copious  learning.  But 
we  must  introduce  to  our  readers  some  account  of  "  The  Ex- 
position of  the  Second  Epistle  of  St  Peter,"  of  which  the  evi- 
dence is  not  small,  that  it  was  published  by  the  same  author, 
three  years  after  the  publication  of  his  Discourses  and  Meditations. 
Of  this  exposition  we  can  truly  say,  we  know  nothing  of  the  kind 
in  Enghsh  theology  that  at  all  equals  it  for  fulness  of  explanation, 
richness  of  matter,  depth  of  sagacity,  originality  of  thought,  and 
strength  and  brilliancy  of  expression. 

On  the  first  verse,  having  expounded,  at  much  length,  not  tedi- 
ously, "the  title"  of  the  writer,  and  the  reasons  why  he  calls  him- 
self a  "  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,"  he  adds: — 

"There  are  two  special  observations  in  this  title,  'servant:^ 


xlviii 


IJJTHODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WOEKS. 


Hirist's  exceUenaj,  and  the  Apostle's  humUily.  This  extols  the 
fli,:^iity  of  Christ,  that  so  famous  an  Apostle  creeps  to  him  on  the 
kiKcs  of  lowliness;  Lord,  I  am  thy  servant.  The  world  esteemed 
him  without  form  or  comeliness,  and  when  they  see  him,  without 
beauty  that  they  should  desire  him.  The  Psalmist  speaki  in  his 
periioii,  '  /  am  a  worm  and  no  man ;  a  reproach  of  men,  and  de- 
spised of  the  people.''  '  To  the  Jews  a  stumhling-hhck,  to  the  Greeks 
foo/ishness.'  But  Peter  styles  himself  the  servant  of  him  that  was 
crucified.  Indeed,  the  service  of  Christ  is  the  honour  of  the  Chris- 
tian. Our  Saviour  admitted  and  accepted  this  just  honour,  'Ye 
call  me  Master  and  Lord  ;  and  ye  say  well,  for  so  I  am.'  Men  in 
tlie  world  arrogate  dignity  to  themselves,  hecanse  so  famous  men  are 
their  servants.  Ahasuerus  might  boast  of  his  viceroys  ;  the  Turk 
of  his  bashaws  ;  but  let  all  sceptres  be  laid  down  at  the  foot  of  the 
Lamb ;  all  sheaves  bow  to  the  sheaf  of  Joseph  ;  all  cro^vns  be  sub- 
jected to  Him  that  is  crowned  with  imspeakable  glory  for  ever. 
This  is  a  clear  remonstrance  of  St  Peter's  humiUty ;  a  famous  apostle. 
Some  have  given  him  more,  the  primacy  of  the  apostles :  yet,  what 
is  bis  own  title?  A  servant  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  godly  are  no  fur- 
ther ambitious  than  to  belong  to  Christ.  There  is  a  great  suit  to 
be  retained  in  the  service  of  princes ;  but  the  best  is  to  serve  the 
Prince  of  princes.  What  need  to  wait  upon  a  channel,  that  may 
dwell  by  a  whole  river  ?  or  serve  him  that  serves,  when  we  may 
serve  him  that  reigns  ?  A  poor  estimation  of  ourselves  gives  us 
the  richest  estimation  with  God.  '  Wliere  thou  wast  little,  I  tlien 
made  thee  great.''  Abraham  says,  I  am  not  worthy.  God  dignifies 
him  to  be  the  father  of  them  that  believe.  Every  Christian's 
escutcheon  must  be  Patience;  and  his  motto,  I  serve.  Yea,  not  only 
saints,  but  angels,  are  glad  of  this  title.  '  Are  they  not  all  ministering 
spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salva- 
tion ?'  "When  St  John  would  have  worshipped  before  the  feet  of 
the  angel,  he  replied,  '  See  thou  do  it  not,  for  I  am  thy  fellow-ser- 
vant.' And  let  me  go  yet  higher  ;  the  natural  Son  of  God,  and 
that  by  an  eternal  generation,  put  on  Him  a  ser*-iceable  nature: 
he  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant.  He  was  so  formed,  so 
habited  to  service,  that  he  endured  all  sorrow,  and  fulfilled  .ill 
righteousness.  Art  thou  better  than  apostles,  better  than  angels, 
better  than  the  Son  of  God  himself,  O  proud  dust,  that  thou  despisest 
the  title  of  a  servant  I" 

If  there  were  any  doubt  that  this  exposition  is  from  the 
same  Thomas  Adams  who  wrote  the  Discourses,  it  would  be 
removed  by  comparing  the  description  of  Repentance,  select- 
ed from  one  of  the  sermons  (pages  vi.  vii.),  with  the  picture  of 


IXTIiODLTTIOX  TO  ADAMs'  WORKH.  xlix 

Repentance,  of  wlitch  he  says  (Exposition,  chap,  i.,  verse  4), 
"AVliit'Ii  I  desire  not  to  ho  set  n])  in  yonr  honscs,  liut  to  be  laid 

.lifin,,;,!  t..n,.),r.,  ,-:-,rl,  as  ti.;  ..,.  :  ••  Vou  .Iiall' ev,.n  l,rr  Mt.i.iR  in 
th,'  .Inst,  l.rr  kincs  liMwii,-,  \wr  l,:,ii(ls  ^vI•i,l.;lll-,  l,.;r  .'y<'s  wrepln;;, 

lier  lijis  jirayini;,  lier  li^'art  1  caliiiu',  her  liin^^s  pantintr         Slic  is  not 

gorgeously  attired  ;  sackclotli  is  lier  garment.  She  hangs  the  word 
of  God  as  a  jewel  at  lier  car,  ami  ties  the  yoke  of  Christ  as  a  eharm 
abo'ut  her  neck.  Tlie  groinul  is  her  bed.  She  eats  the  bread  of 
affliction,  and  drinks  the  waters  of  anguish.  The  windows  of  all 
her  senses  are  shnt  against  vanity.  She  bills  Charity  stand  the 
porier  at  her  gate^,  and  she  gives  the  poor  bread,  even  while  her- 
self is  fasting.  She  would  wash  Christ's  feet  with  more  tears  than 
Mary  Magdalene ;  and  if  her  estate  could  reach  it,  give  him  a 
costlier  unction....  Lastly,  she  is  lifted  up  to  heaven,  where  angels 
and  cherubim  sing  lier  tnncs  of  immortal  joy,  and  God  bids  Im- 
mortality set  her  on  a  throne  of  glory!" 

The  preacher  and  exiioiuider  delights  in  sneh  portraits   "The 

Papists  say  images  arc  the  books  of  idiots:  but  the  prophet  calls 
them  teachers  of  lies ;  and  all  know  they  are  occasions  of  sin.  Let 
me  give  you  a  picture  without  the  offence  ;  behold  an  image  without 
sin.  It  is  of  Virtue.  You  shall  no  sooner  see  the  medal  than 
you  will  straight  know  the  face.  Conceive  her  a  virgin  of  un- 
spotted chastity :  fair,  yet  never  courted  with  obsequious  language. 
She  hath  a  face  white  as  heaven,  mixed  with  some  lovely  red ; — 
white  with  her  own  innocence,  ruddy  with  blushing  at  others' 
naughtiness — of  her  Saviour's  complexion,  '  my  Beloved  is  white 
and  ruddy.'  She  hath  a  brow  clear  as  crystal,  wherein  God  hath 
written  wisdom.  This  is  lier  courage ;  she  may  be  affronted,  she 
cannot  be  affrighted.  She  hath  eyes  that  never  sent  out  a  wanton 
look ;  those  casements  were  never  opened  to  let  in  vanity.  She  ig 
not  poring  with  them  on  the  earth,  but  directs  them  to  heaven, 
where  they  shall  one  day  see  her  desire,  even  the  glory  of  God. 
The  Lord  loves  those  eyes.  She  liath  lips  like  a  thread  of  scarlet, 
and  her  speech  is  comely.  She  hath  the  tongue  of  angels :  when 
she  speaks,  she  ministers  grace  to  the  hearers.  She  diseoursetli 
the  language  of  Canaan  most  perfectly,  and  never  opens  her  mouth, 
hut  the  first  air  she  breathes,  echoes  with  the  praise  of  her  Maker. 
Her  ears  are  like  the  sanctum  sanctorum  of  the  temple :  none  but 
the  High  Priest  must  enter  there.  They  are  stopped  to  the  songs 
of  any  siren,  open  to  the  mouths  of  any  poor.  What  gracious 
words  she  receives  in  at  those  doors,  she  sends  them  like  jewels 

d 


1 


ISTEODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  TTOBKS. 


to  be  laid  up  in  the  cabinet  of  her  heart.  She  hath  two 
hands,  one  of  equity,  another  of  charity ;  none  for  injury.  She 
gives  every  one  his  due,  for  justice'  sake  ;  some  more  than  due,  for 
mercy's  sake.  She  gives,  forgives ;  does  that  to  others  which  she 
expects  at  the  hands  of  Clirist.  She  hath  bowels  of  mercy.  Tlie 
members  of  Christ  are  as  dear  to  her  as  her  most  inward  and  vital 
parts.  She  feeds  them,  as  considering  what  it  were  to  have  empty 
bowels  herself.  Her  knees  were  never  stiffened  with  pride.  She 
can  easily  bow  them  to  give  her  superior  homage,  but  throws  them 
down  at  the  footstool  of  her  Maker  ;  yet  still  the  heart  is  lower,  and 
she  never  risetli  without  a  pardon.  Her  feet  are  still  travelling  the 
ways  of  piety,  and  running  the  race  of  salvation.  She  knows  this 
life  is  a  journey,  and  no  time  to  stand  still  ;  therefore  she  is  shod 
for  the  puqjose  with  the  preparation  of  the  gospel  of  peace.  She 
never  rests  till  she  has  gotten  within  the  threshold  of  heaven.  She 
hath  a  white  silken  garment ;  the  snow  of  Lebanon  is  black  to  it ; 
not  woven  out  of  the  bowels  of  worms,  but  out  of  the  side  of 
her  Saviour.  She  is  clothed  all  over  vnth  his  righteousness,  which 
makes  her  beautiful  in  the  sight  of  her  Maker.  She  is  girt  with  the 
girdle  of  truth,  and  sins  not,  '  not  because  she  cannot,  but  because 
she  will  not'  (August.)  She  hath  a  crown  promised — blessedness  ; 
her  Redeemer,  even  the  King  of  heaven,  did  bequeath  it  her  in  his 
will ;  and  she  shall  wear  it  in  eternal  glory.  And  let  every  soul 
that  knows  and  loves  her  on  earth,  or  hopes  to  enjoy  her  reward  in 
heaven,  call  her  blessed." 

In  a  style  less  poetical,  but  full  of  truth,  sound  sense,  and  manly 
devotion,  he  thus  describes  the  man  who  adds  to  his  faith  virtue, 
and  to  virtue  knowledge  : — 

"  Will  you  now  take  a  short  character  of  the  knowing  man  ?  He 
desires  to  know  all  things,  but  first  himself ;  lest,  knowing  acquaint- 
ance in  every  place,  he  should  die  a  stranger  to  his  own  heart ;  and 
in  himself,  not  so  much  his  strength  as  his  weakness.  To  know  our 
own  virtues  makes  us  proud  ;  our  own  vices,  humbleth  us.  His 
eyes  are  never  both  at  once  from  home  ;  one  keeps  house,  while  the 
other  goes  abroad  for  intelligence.  He  is  blind  in  no  man's  cause, 
but  best  sighted  in  his  own.  He  confines  himself  to  the  circle  of 
his  own  affairs ;  and  thrusts  not  his  fingers  into  needless  fires.  His 
heart's  desire  is  to  know  God ;  and  he  knows  there  is  no  better  way 
to  know  him  than  through  Jesus  Christ.  Herein  consists  his  hap- 
piness, for  so  he  makes  sure  work  for  his  soul.  It  is  the  best,  and 
therefore  first  regarded ;  and  he  never  rests  till  his  faith  be  built  on 
assurance  that  God  hath  pardoned  his  sins,  and  given  him  a  place  in 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS.  H 

hoavpn.  The  world  he  so  far  seeks  to  know,  that  he  may  abhor  it. 
He  sees  the  falseness  of  it ;  and  therefore  learns  to  trust  himself 
ever  ;  others,  so  far  as  not  to  be  damaged  by  their  disappointment. 
Ifc  knows  this  to  be  a  short  and  miserable  life,  and  therefore  studies 
the  way  to  a  blessed  and  eternal  one  ;  that  this  world  shall  perish, 
tlicrefore  is  loth  to  perish  with  it ;  that  money  may  make  a  man 
richer,  not  better,  and  therefore  chooseth  rather  to  sleep  with  a  good 
conscience  than  a  full  purse.  He  had  rather  the  world  should  count 
him  a  fool  than  God  ;  therefore  desires  no  more  wealth  than  an  ho- 
nest man  may  bear  away.  He  knows  this  world's  delight  consists 
of  crotchets  and  short  songs,  whose  burden  is  sorrow  :  only  heaven 
hath  the  best  music,  where  glorious  angels  and  saints  sing  for  ever 
to  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  He  knows  his  own  ignorance  ;  endeavours 
to  science  ;  and  what  he  cannot  apprehend,  he  begs  wisdom  of  God, 
not  of  everything,  but  only  of  so  much  as  may  make  him  blessed. 
He  knows  how  to  make  his  passions,  like  good  servants,  to  stand  in 
a  diligent  attendance,  ready  at  the  command  of  religion.  If  any  of 
them,  forgetting  their  duty,  be  miscarried  to  rebel,  he  first  conceals 
the  mutiny,  then  suppresseth  it.  He  will  not  see  every  wrong  done 
him,  knowing  he  hath  done  more  to  his  Maker.  After  continual  ac- 
quaintance with  the  Scriptures,  and  humble  familiarity  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  he  knows  the  way  to  heaven  perfectly,  and  runs  apace 
till  he  gets  into  the  arms  of  his  Saviour." 

On  the  doctrine  of  election,  while  the  Calvinism  of  the  Reformers 
is  taught  without  reserve,  there  is  a  skilful  refutation  of  objections, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  the  truth  is  guarded  from  perversion,  and  the 
Christian  is  taught  how  to  derive,  from  his  faith  in  this  doctrine, 
both  spiritual  consolation,  and  motives  for  diligent  obedience  to  the 
will  of  God. 

In  describing  the  felicity  of  heaven,  he  avails  himself  of  an  allu- 
sion which  had  been  made  by  Bernard  to  the  crown  of  twelve  stars, 
in  Rev.  xii.  1. 

"  Into  this  little  ring  let  us  bring  the  discourse  of  that  infinite 
glory. 

"  Let  the  first  star  be  memory  without  forgetfulness.  The  se- 
cond star  is  reason  without  obscurity,  understanding  without  error. 
The  third  star  is  a  perfect  will  of  good,  without  perturbation. 
The  fourth  star  is  the  charity  and  impassibility  of  the  body.  The 
fifth  star  is  the  renovation  of  all  things.  The  sixth  star  is  universal 
charity  without  envy.  The  seventh  star  is  the  common  and  uni- 
versal joy — ^an  effect  of  the  former.  The  eighth  star  is  a  love  of 
ourselves,  only  for. God's  honour.    The  ninth  star  is  the  beatifical 


lii  INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  TTOEKS. 

vision  of  God.  The  tenth  star  is  the  fulness  of  pleasures.  The 
eleventh  star  is  the  continual  praising  of  God  for  his  glory.  The 
last  star  of  this  crown  is  the  last  passage  of  my  text,  which  is  the 
eternity  of  all — it  is  an  '  everlasting  kingdom.'  This  is  the  crown 
of  twelve  stars,  wherewith  the  God  of  mercy  crown  all  our  heads  in 
the  everlasting  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ.  Amen." 

On  the  expression  in  2  Pet.  i.  17 — "  Such  a  voice" — he  lavishes 
a  full  stream  of  racy  learning  and  gorgeous  illustration. 

"  Tully  commends  voices:  Socrates' for  sweetness  ;  Lyslas'  for 
siihtlcty  ;  HyiicriJes' for  sharpness  ;  ^schines' for  shrillness;  De- 
mosthenes' for  powerfulness ;  gravity  in  Africanus  ;  smoothness  in 
Lcelius — rare  voices  !  In  holy  writ,  we  admire  a  sanctified  bold- 
ness in  Peter;  profoundness  in  Paul ;  loftiness  in  John  ;  vehemency 
in  him  and  his  brother  James,  those  two  sons  of  thunder ;  fervency 
in  Simon  the  zealous.  Among  ecclesiastical  writers,  we  admire 
weight  in  Tertullian  ;  a  gracious  composure  of  well-mattered  words 
in  Lactantius  ;  a  flowing  speech  in  Cyprian  ;  a  familiar  stateliness  in 
Chrysostom ;  a  conscionablc  delight  in  Bernard  ;  and  all  these  graces 
in  good  Saint  Augustine.  Some  construed  the  Scriptures  allegori- 
cally,  as  Origcn ;  some  literally,  as  Jerome ;  some  morally,  as  Gre- 
gory ;  others  pathetically,  as  Chrysostom ;  others  dogmatically,  as 
Augustine.  The  new  writers  have  their  several  voices :  Peter 
^Martyr,  copiously  judicious  ;  Zanchius,  judiciously  copious.  Luther 
wrote  with  a  coal  on  the  walls  of  his  chamber :  lies  et  verba  Phi- 
lq)pus  ;  res,  sine  verhis  LutJterus  ;  verba,  sine  re  Erasmus ;  nec  res 
nec  verba  Carlostadias.  Melancthon  hath  both  style  and  matter ; 
Luther,  matter  without  style ;  Erasmus,  style  without  matter  ;  Carl- 
stadt,  neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  Calvin  was  behind  none,  not 
tlie  best  of  them,  for  a  sweet  dilucidatlofi  of  the  Scriptures,  and  urg- 
ing of  solid  arguments  against  the  Anti-Christians.  One  b  happy 
in  expounding  the  words  ;  another  in  delivering  the  matter  ;  a  third 
for  cases  of  conscience  ;  a  fourth  to  determine  the  school  doubts. 
But  now  put  all  these  together :  a  hundred  Peters  and  Pauls ;  a 
thousand  I3ernards  and  Augustines  ;  a  million  of  Calvins  and  Me- 
lancthons.  Let  not  their  voices  be  once  named  with  this  voice  : 
They  all  spake  as  children.  This  is  the  voice  of  the  Ancient  of 
Days." 

On  another  part  of  the  same  sublime  passage,  he  observes : — 
"  This  glorious  vision  and  voice  from  heaven  amazed  the  dis- 
ciples, that  '  they  fell  on  their  face,  a)ul  weresore  afraid.'  Christ, 
•with  the  touch  of  his  hand,  recovered  them,  'and  when  they  had 
lifted  up  their  eyes,  they  saw  no  man,  save  Jesus  only.'  Because, 


1KTH0DUCT10N  TO  ADAJIS'  WORKS.  liii 

indeed,  he  was  that  person  only  to  whom  both  law  and  propliets 
bare  witness.  They  have  done  their  office,  and  then  tliey  vanish, 
that  Christ  may  be  all  in  all.  There  is  only  one  mediator. 
Christ ;  it  is  he  only  that  satisfies  the  law,  and  sanctifies  tlie  con- 
science ;  he  only  that  reconciles  us  to  God.  Let  Moses  and 
Elias,  and  all  others,  disappear  in  the  work  of  our  salvation ; 
only  give  us  Jesus  Christ.  I  conclude:  Peter  and  the  rest 
knew  Moses  and  Elias  in  the  mount,  whom  they  never  saw  before ; 
they  being  departed  many  hundred  years  before  the  others  were 
horn.  Yet  they  could  distinguish  Moses  from  Elias,  Elias  from 
Moses,  and  both  from  Christ,  and  say,  This  is  Moses,  This  is  Elias, 
and  '  That  is  Christ.'  This  is  a  lively  tj^pe  and  shadow  of  that 
glory  in  heaven,  where  every  saint  shall  perfectly  know  all.  Not 
Abraham  nor  any  of  the  patriarchs,  not  David  nor  any  of  the  kings, 
Elias  nor  any  of  the  prophets,  not  Peter  nor  any  of  the  apostles, 
not  Stephen  nor  any  of  the  martyrs,  not  any  of  our  friends,  kind- 
red, nor  acquaintance,  none  of  the  now  unknown  believers  scattered 
on  the  face  of  the  broad  earth,  shall  in  that  place  be  strangers  to  us. 
Our  knowledge  shall  extend  to  every  individual  person ;  all  shall 
know  every  one,  and  every  one  shall  know  all.  Now  let  us  love 
one  another,  pray  for  one  another,  do  good  one  to  another ;  then 
and  there  we  shall  know  one  another,  and  all  be  eternally  known 
and  loved  of  our  blessed  God."'  Then  with  what  holy  ingenuity 
and  elegance  docs  he  sum  up  the  contents  of  a  chapter,  so  differ- 
ent from  the  cold  and  dry  summaries  of  modern  commentators  ! 
"  The  sum  of  this  whole  chapter  hath  been  a  sweet  garden  of 
grace  and  mercy.  The  first  flower  was  a  salutation  ;  and  that  is 
a  wish  for  mercy.  The  fourth,  an  exhortation  ;  and  that  is  the  way 
to  mercy.  The  fifth,  a  witness  of  our  election  ;  and  that  is  an  as- 
surance of  mercy.  The  sixth,  an  induction  to  heaven  upon  earth  ; 
and  that  is  a  high  degree  of  mercy.  The  seventh,  a  testimony  from 
heaven ;  and  that  was  the  voice  of  mercy.  The  eighth,  a  word  of 
performed  prophecy ;  and  that  was  an  argument  of  mercy.  The 
ninth,  an  illumination  of  the  gospel ;  and  that  is  the  light  of  mercy. 
The  last  is  the  glory  of  heaven ;  and  that  is  the  full  day  and  perfec- 
tion of  mercy.  Through  these  blessed  degrees,  my  discourse  hath 
brought  you  :  first,  we  began  with  peace  ;  then  dwelt  long  with 
grace ;  and  lastly  are  come  to  glory.  This  peace  possess  your 
consciences !  this  grace  beautify  your  hearts !  and  this  glory 
crown  all  your  souls  !  Now  unto  Him  that  is  able  to  keep  you  from 
falling,  and  to  present  you  faultless  before  the  presence  of  his  glory 
with  exceeding  joy,  to  the  only  wise  God  our  Saviour,  he  glory 
and  '"ajesty,  dominion,  and  power  both  now  and  ever!  4.men." 


lir  INTRODnCTlON  TO  ADAMS'  W0BK8. 

Besides  these  beautiful  illustrations  of  Scripture,  the  writer 
abounds  in  wise  suggestions  of  the  uses  which  we  are  to  make  of 
the  Scriptures  for  ourselves.  After  expounding  very  learnedly, 
and  practically  at  the  same  time,  the  passage  in  the  second 
chapter  of  the  Epistle  respecting  false  prophets,  he  concludes  by 
saying : — 

"  It  was  thus  with  them;  in  it  we  may  see  our  own  case.  They 
say  it  is  half  a  protection  to  foreknow  a  danger.  Behold  the  Apos- 
tle's fidelity,  and  therein  God's  mercy.  We  are  forewarned.  Pre- 
cedents give  light  to  succeeding  times.  We  see  further  than  the 
fathers,  because,  like  dwarfs,  we  get  up  on  their  shoulders.  We  see 
with  their  eyes,  and  our  own  too.  So  Diogenes  might  brag  that  he 
had  more  wit  than  his  mother,  because  he  had  his  mother-wit  and 
his  own  too.  There  is  no  treasure  so  much  enricheth  our  mind  as 
learning — no  learning  so  applicable  to  our  life  as  history — no  his- 
tory so  directing  as  example — no  example  so  worthy  our  observa- 
tion as  that  which  is  written  by  God's  own  finger.  It  was  an  old 
saying,  to  get  knowledge  by  another's  expense  and  experience  is,  as 
it  were,  to  feed  fat  at  another  man's  cost.  Israel  was  God's  people 
as  well  as  we;  yea,  in  respect  of  our  faith,  our  fathers ;  therefore,  if 
they  were  tempted  by  false  prophets,  and  sinned  ;  if  they  sinned,  and 
were  punished ;  let  us  not,  having  the  same  danger,  and  erring  in 
the  same  manner,  think  to  escape  the  same  punishment.  'All 
these  things  happened  unto  them  for  ensamples,  and  are  icritten  for 
our  admonitimi.'  God  hath  set  up  these  sins,  as  crocodiles  to  terrify 
us  ;  and  we  entertain  them  as  sirens  to  seduce  us  !" 

As  one  of  many  specimens  of  the  graphic  force  and  vivacity  with 
which  a  truth  is  brought  home,  after  a  long  and  careful  exposition, 
the  following  is  one  which  can  scarcely  faU  to  strike  the  most  care- 
less reader  : — "  Now  see,  O  renegade,  whom  thou  refusest.  Thou 
knowest  not  whom  thou  deniest,  therefore  thou  deniest.  If  thou 
hast  brought  honour  by  thy  valour,  thou  callest  it  thine;  if  endeared 
a  friend  by  thy  loyalty,  thou  caUesthim  thine;  if  purchased  a  house 
vrith  thy  money,  thou  callest  it  thine.  Christ  hath  bought  thee 
with  his  blood,  and  yet  thou  deniest  to  be  his.  This  ransom  is 
paid  ;  and  now,  in  a  merciful  offer,  he  tenders  it  to  thee.  Wilt  thou, 
in  a  peevish  sullenness,  refuse  it  ?  Conceive  this  dialogue  between 
the  Redeemer  and  thee. 

"  Redeemer.  Open  to  me. 

"  Disciple.  No,  I  know  not  whence  thou  art. 

"  R.  Rise  and  see. 

"  D.  No,  I  am  in  my  warm  bed  of  pleasures  and  carnal  satisfac- 
tion ;  I  ^vill  nnt  rise.    Who  art  thou  ? 


INTnODCCTlON  TO  AUAMS'  WORKS.  Iv 

"  R.  I  am  Jesus,  thy  Redeemer.  Wilt  thou  still  swear  anrl  for- 
swear ? 

"  U.  I  know  none  such. — R.  I  bought  thee ;  thou  art  mine; 
I  come  to  embrace  thee.  Deny  me  not. — D.  Yes  :  take  me 
when  all  other  delights  forsake  me.  Let  too  he  thine  when  I  am 
not  my  own.  Till  then,  keep  thy  cheer  to  thyself.  1  have  dreamed 
of  pleasures,  and  cannot  come. 

"  Oh!  obstinate  hearts,  whom  the  King  of  heaven  must  buy  with 
his  Wood,  woo  with  his  grace,  wait  upon  with  liis  patience,  enrich 
with  his  proffers  of  mercy,  and  yet,  at  last,  be  denied  !  Lord,  turn 
to  such  as  love  thee !  We  deny  not  thee.  Deny  not  us,  O  good 
LordJesiis!  Amen." 

Li  the  course  of  his  Exposition,  he  is  led  to  treat  of  some  of  the 
most  perplexing  questions  in  the  metaphysics  of  theology.  Here 
he  displays  as  much  penetration  of  intellect,  and  strength  of  rea- 
soning, as  if  he  never  had  had  leisure  to  cull  a  flower  of  poetry,  or 
heart  to  frame  a  moving  appeal.  On  the  6th  verse  of  the  second 
chapter  he  thus  writes  : — 

"  Observe  that  God  is  not  the  cause  of  man's  transgression  or 
damnation.  '  Let  no  man  say,  when  he  is  tempted,  I  am  tempted 
of  God.'  Seneca  hath  a  saying  not  unlike  of  the  gods.  Dii  nec 
hahent  nec  dant  malum :  (The  gods  neither  receive  nor  bestow 
evil).  But  it  is  objected:  'It  is  God's  will  that  I  should  thus 
sin  and  thus  fall ;  why  doth  he  yet  find  fault  ?  who  hath  resisted  his 
will  ?  My  will  is  borne  upon  the  stream  of  his  inevitable  will.  I 
sin  by  compulsion ;  why  doth  he  yet  complain?'  Oh!  detestable 
speech,  that  charges  God  with  our  iniquity !  than  which  the  grand 
devil  could  not  war  a  worse  above  ground.  Consider  their  dilemma: 
evil  is  done,  and  God  doth  suffer  it ;  whether  then  doth  he  suffer 
it  against  his  will,  or  with  it?  If  against  his  will,  this  takes  away 
his  omnipotence  ;  if  with  his  will,  then  he  wOled  it.  For  answer, 
the  will  of  God  is  partly  secret,  wholly  just.  It  is  two  ways  con- 
sidered. First,  as  it  is  written  in  tables,  published  by  a  trumpet, 
seconded  with  blessings,  curses.  Then,  as  concealed,  written  in 
another  book,  wrapped  up  in  the  counsels  of  his  own  breast.  What 
God  formerly  (in  the  first  sense)  wills,  is  not  always  done,  yea,  is 
done  seldom ;  what  in  the  other  respect  he  wills,  is  infallible.  If 
we  press  further  into  his  secrets,  we  are  bid  stand  back.  Adam 
was  driven  out  of  Paradise  for  affecting  too  much  knowledge.  The 
Israelites  had  died  the  death,  had  they  passed  their  bounds,  and 
climbed  up  to  the  mount.  Fifty  thousand  threescore  and  ten  men 
of  the  Bethshemites  were  slain  for  looking  into  the  ark.    There  are 


Ivi  ISritODDCTIOS  TO  AOAMS'  WOUKS. 

some  unsearchable  mysteries  as  high  as  the  Iiighest  heavens,  covered 
yvith  a  curtain  of  sacred  secrecy,  not  to  he  drai\-n  till  the  day  come, 
wherein  we  shall  know  as  we  are  known.  Now,  when  men  have 
spilt  blood,  defiled  the  marriage-bed,  provoked  heaven  with  rapes, 
treasons,  depopulations,  blasiiheraies, — what !  have  they  done  the 
will  of  God?  Indeed,  in  respect  of  liis  hidden  purpose,  tliey  have 
done  his  will,  in  sjjite  of  all  their  malicious  and  sworn  contradic- 
tions. For  upon  tlicni  that  will  not  do  as  he  would  liave  it,  he 
will  do  himself  as  he  would  have  it.  But  in  respect  of  themselves, 
the  wicked  have  done  what  t!od  willed  not;  for  he  commanded  the 
contrary,  and  hath  expressed  that  will  in  his  word !" 

There  is  a  similar  example  of  the  way  of  dealing  with  a  deep 
diflficulty,  in  expounding  '•  the  aivjeh  lliai  sinned :" — 

"  The  cause — which  was  indeed  wholly  in  themselves.  For  either 
God  or  man  must  be  the  connnon  cause  of  their  sin,  or  themselves. 
Not  man ;  for  had  not  the  angels  fallen  first,  they  could  not  have 
been  the  cause  of  liis  fall.  That  nature  continuing  good  in  itself, 
would  never  have  prociived  evil  to  others.  Not  God  ;  for  then 
that  were  injustice  t.i  r..n<!  irn  tlniu  for  that  which  he  himself 
caused.    It  were  tiiii  i  I.:'  ::il;e  them  fall,  and  then  punish 

them  for  falling,    liiii  1.  i  -     it,  and  would  not  prevent  it ; 

and  in  not  hindering  it,  he  si  ruiLd  to  cause  it.  Indeed,  this  holds 
of  the  creature,  who  is  bound,  foreseeing  an  evil,  to  do  his  best  in 
preventing  it,  and,  otherwise,  is  made  accessory  to  it.  But  God  is 
an  absolute  Lord  of  all,  and  not  botmd  to  any  of  his  creatures,  fur- 
ther than  he  bindeth  himself.  In  Christ  he  hath  bound  himself  to 
believers  ;  and  all  his  promises  are  j-ea  and  amen,  and  he  will  keep 
his  word.  But  shall  any  creature  challenge  him  for  not  doing  that 
which  he  never  promised  to  do  ? 

"  But  God  did  not  confirm  them  in  their  created  grace  ;  therefore 
caused  their  fall. — Ansicer :  God  did  not  [lurpose  their  confirma- 
tion ;  he  gave  them  power  of  willing,  not  will  of  standing.  He  is 
not  tied  to  confer  more  grace  upon  his  creature  than  himself  pleaseth. 
It  was  enough  that  he  created  them  righteous,  without  addition  of 
their  confirming,  lie  is  not  bound  to  do  whatsoever  he  can,  nor  to 
give  account  of  whatsoever  he  doth.  In  a  word,  the  angels  had  in 
themselves  the  proper  cause  and  bcgimiing  of  their  own  fall,  which' 
was  a  free  and  flexible  will.  They  might  will  good  and  perseve- 
rance in  good  ;  and — that  will  being  mutable — they  might  also  will 
evil,  and  so  fall  from  God.  The  same  kind  of  will  was  in  innocent 
Adam. — But,  good  trees  cannot  bring  forth  bad  fruit ;  therefore, 
the  angels  being  good,  could  not  sin  of  themselves. — Ansa  er : 


INTKODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS.  Ivil 

Those  words  must  be  construed  seiisu  composito,  rum  disjuncto, 
'in  their  connexion,  not  separately  from  it.)  Indeed,  a  good  tree, 
remaining  good,  cannot  produce  evil  fruit,  but  being  changeable,  it 
may. — ^But  God  foresaw  it,  therefore  the  angels  could  not  escape  it. — ■ 
Answer:  Yet  is  not  his  prescience  any  cause  of  their  fall,  but 
only  an  antecedent.  Because  we  sin,  therefore  it  was  foreknown 
to  God,  therefore  we  sin.  God  saw  Judas's  treason  in  the  glass  of 
his  prescience,  before  Judas  had  a  member  composed,  or  the  world 
was  formed  ;  yet  was  not  this  the  cause  why  Judas  betrayed  Christ. 
He  foresaw  it  ;  he  did  neither  compel  it,  nor  command  it,  nor  al- 
low it.  Prescience  is  to  God  as  memory  is  to  us.  Memory 
presents  to  us  things  past  ;  prescience  to  God,  things  to  come. 
Our  memory  is  not  the  cause  why  things  past  were  done,  nor  is  God's 
foreknowledge  the  cause  why  things  to  come  shall  be  done.  We 
remtfmber  some  things  we  do ;  we  do  not  all  the  things  we  remem- 
ber. So  God  foresees  all  he  does  ;  he  does  not  all  he  foresees.  We 
remember  an  orchard  such  a  time  planted  that  now  yields  good  fruit 
hy  nature,  not  by  violence  :  so  Goi  foresaw  it.  We  remember  a  mur- 
der done  by  will,  not  compulsion :  so  God  foresaw  it.  Neither 
our  memory  nor  God's  prescience  caused  these,  but  they  come  to 
pass,  natural,  by  nature  ;  voluntary,  by  mil ;  contingent,  by  haps  ; 
necessary,  by  necessity. 

"  — But,  did  God  only  foresee  it  ?  No  ;  also  he  decreed  it :  why 
then,  how  could  they  avoid  it? — Answer:  He  decreed  to  leave 
them  to  themselves,  that  they  might  fall  if  they  will,  and  then  to 
give  them  no  grace  of  rising. — But  then,  as  good  hit  me  as  throw 
me :  it  is  all  one  to  thrust  an  old  man  down,  as  to  take  away  liis 
staff  which  shoiJd  support  him. — Ansicer :  Nay ;  but  the  old  man 
throws  away  his  own  staff,  and  God  doth  not  reach  it  him  ;  they  did 
forsake  their  own  grace,  and  fall  by  their  own  folly. — But  here  let 
ns  fall  from  disputation  to  admiration.  '  Oh  the  depths  of  the  wis- 
dom of  God !  how  unsearchable  his  judgments !  and  his  ways  past 
finding  out !'  " 

We  have  seen  how  skilfully  this  writer  could  vindicate  the  use  of 
imagery  in  conveying  his  instructions. 

Observe  the  ingenious  turn  he  gives  to  the  unexpected  length  at 
which  he  had  dwelt  on  one  part  of  his  subject : — "  As  a  man  that 
has  seen  a  model  of  a  church  in  a  perspective  piece  thinks  at  first 
he  may  soon  survey  it  all,  mthout  leaving  anything  unobserved  ; 
but  when  the  glass  is  given  to  him,  made  for  the  purpose,  through 
which  he  is  to  look  upon  it,  both  his  eyes  and  mind  are  taken  up 
with  a  longer  time  of  speculation,  and  he  finds  it  work  enough  for  a 


Iviii  INTKODUCTIOS  TO  ADAMS'  WOBKS. 

pair  of  hours  to  note  every  part  of  that  curious  fabric  ;  many  a 
pillar  and  many  a  posture  b  presented  to  him  worth  his  sight, 
which  at  the  first  blush  he  would  have  passed  over  as  not  remark- 
able. So  at  my  entrance  into  this  short  argument  (little  in  show, 
infinite  in  sense),  I  promised  myself  a  quick  despatch,  and  thought 
it  but  one  day's  journey  at  the  most ;  but  the  farther  I  advanced 
into  this  magnificent  and  beautiful  structure,  the  more  my  thoughts 
grew,  and  the  more  work  I  found  ;  many  a  column  of  comfort,  many 
a  door  of  hope,  many  a  window  of  light  is  espied,  and  would  not 
he  left  undiscovered — that  the  weak  might  have  instruction,  the 
stronger  satisfaction,  all  consolation,  and  in  all,  God  might  have  the 
glory  of  his  wisdom." 

We  have  assumed,  in  a  former  part  of  this  essay,  that  Mr  Adams 
was  a  man  little  addicted  to  parties,  either  in  the  church  or  in  the 
state,  seeing  that  we  can  find  no  trace  of  him  in  any  record  within 
our  reach  of  the  changeful  times  in  which  he  lived.  The  remark 
was  made  with  anything  but  an  intention  to  disparage  the  more  forward 
spirits  by  whose  boldness,  energy,  and  sufferings,  the  plague  of  despo- 
tism was  stayed,  and  the  healthful  air  of  liberty  secured  for  all  gene- 
rations. But  when  disputes  were  running  high,  and  extravagances 
were  witnessed,  which  we  can  forgive  for  the  sake  of  the  glorious  prin- 
ciples with  which  they  happened  to  be  connected,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  a  man  of  quiet  nature,  a  lover  of  order,  who  feared  tlie  disturb- 
ance which  reforms  bring  with  them  more  tlian  he  apprehended 
the  permanent  value  of  the  reforms  themselves,  should  think  it  both 
safe  and  right  to  keep  aloof.  In  such  a  position,  a  man  preserves 
the  coolness  of  his  mind,  and  judges  mth  more  calmness  than  zeal 
of  the  men  who  are  heated  by  the  contest.  There  are  many  pas- 
sages in  these  writings  which  discover  such  a  state  of  mind.  Thus, 
speaking  of  being  "  found  of  him  in  peace,"  after  fuUy  opening  the 
passage,  and  inculcating  the  spirit  of  peace  on  earth,  as  a  prepara- 
tion for  the  full  fruition  of  its  blessedness  in  heaven,  he  goes  on  to 
say — "  We  see  a  fearful  combustion  all  over  the  Christian  world, 
wars  in  some  places,  rumours  of  wars  in  all  places  ;  we,  therefore, 
if  we  love  peace,  have  cause  to  fall  to  our  prayers  for  peace,  that 
God  would  so  rule  the  rulers  of  nations  and  kingdoms  that  their 
hearts  may  be  disposed  to  peace.  So  our  church  hath  taught  us  to 
pray  '  Give  peace  in  our  time,  O  Lord  ;'  and  that  '  he  would  give 
unto  all  nations  unity,  peace,  and  concord.'  For  ourselves  at  home, 
blessed  be  the  God  of  peace  for  it,  we  have  abundance  of  peace.  We 
lie  down  and  rise  up  in  peace.    We  go  to  our  temples  in  peace.  We 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS.  lix 

go  to  OUT  graves  in  peace.  Yet  the  quietest  waters  may  be  moved 
hy  the  vf  inds  ;  and  we  are  not  without  some  tempestuous  spirits  that, 
as  if  they  had  fed  so  long  upon  the  sweet  plenty  of  peace  till  they 
had  taken  a  surfeit,  are  loud  advocates  for  war.  '  Fear  the  Lord 
and  the  king,  and  meddle  not  with  them  that  are  given  to  change. 
The  desire  of  change  is  the  mother  of  murmuring,  which  breeds  a 
whispering  and  buzzing  of  false  rumours  into  false  ears.  They  sjyeak 
out  of  the  ground,  and  whisper  out  of  the  dust.  (Isa.  xxix.  4.) 
These  whisperings  and  murmurings,  like  vapours  rising  out  of  the 
earth,  multiply  into  the  storms  of  sedition  ;  sedition  grows  into 
mutiny  ;  and  mutiny  ends  in  confusion.  They  that  are  troubled 
with  the  desire  for  innovation  will  be  troubling  majesty  itself,  and 
had  rather  than  do  nothing,  undo  all.  Out  of  their  popular  and 
vainglorious  humour,  they  would  be  counted  angels,  though  it  be 
but  for  troubling  the  waters.  Be  the  garden  never  so  fair,  they 
would  make  the  world  believe  that  there  is  a  snake  under  every  leaf. 
Be  the  intention  never  so  sincere,  they  will  prognosticate  and  divine 
sinister  and  mischievous  effects  from  it.  Such  men  have  little 
hopes  to  be  found  of  Christ  in  peace  ;  for  '  the  way  of  peace  have  they 
not  known.'  A  troubled  spirit  is  a  sacrifice  to  God,  but  a  troublesome 
spirit  is  far  from  it :  it  is  rather  a  sacrifice  to  Satan. 

"  But  woe  to  them  that  break  the  peace  of  the  church,  that  blend 
religion  with  contention,  put  those  asunder  which  God  hath  joined 
together — Truth  and  Peace !  With  what  violent  passions  do  men  bandy 
controversies !  Ho  w  they  do  wrangle  in  print,  and  fight  vrith  their  pens, 
as  soldiers  with  their  pikes — all  wounding  the  peace  of  the  Church  ! 
With  wliat  bitterness  of  spirit  do  they  defy  one  another  !  I  would  to 
God  we  had  less  of  the  polemical,  and  more  of  the  positive,  divinity. 
I  deny  not  but  wisdom  ought  to  be  justified  of  her  children  :  an  indif- 
ference to  contrary  opinions  in  fundamental  doctrines  ;  the  shuffling 
of  religions  together  in  a  bag,  and  making  it  all  one  which  they 
choose,  is  a  cursed  stupidity.  So  a  Turk  might  say  in  scorn  of  us, 
both  Protestants  and  Papists,  '  They  call  you  heretics ;  you  call  theni 
idolaters  ;  why  may  not  idolaters  and  heretics  agree  well  enough 
together?'  But  a  true  Christian  will  never  make  contrarieties  in 
fundamental  things  indiff'erent,  nor  the  Word  of  God  and  the  tradi- 
tions of  men  all  one.  But  what  needs  this  frequency  of  disputations, 
this  multiplying  of  volumes  ?  Why  should  we  answer  every  dog 
that  barks  with  barking  again  ?  Why  should  we  think  the  truth 
utterly  lost,  unless  we  weary  the  press  with  indications  of  it  ?  The 
tongue  is  afire,  but  the  pen  goes  further ;  adds  fuel  to  this  fire,  and 
shoots  it  abroad  where  the  tongue  cannot  reach — of  all  which,  being 


Ix  I.NTKODUCTIOJf  TO  AUAMs'  W0BK3. 

of  SO  peace-brpaking  a  nature,  like  those  hooks  of  curious  arts  (Acts 
xix.  19),  if  there  were  a  good  fire  made,  the  Church  might  well  en- 
dure to  warm  her  hands  at  it ;  for  it  were  certainly  better  for  us  to 
want  some  truth  than  to  have  no  peace  ;  and  a  man  that  never 
studied  controversies  may,  without  controversy,  be  saved.  '  Strive 
not  about  words  to  no  profit,  but  to  the  subverting  of  the  hearers  ;' 
for  thereby  the  whole  are  often  wounded,  but  the  weak  are  seldom 
strengthened.  '■If  any  man  may  seem,  to  he  contentious,  we  have  no 
such  custom,  neither  the  churches  of  God.'  The  custom  of  the  Church 
is  to  follow  peace,  to  fly  contention." 

Nothing  impresses  the  reader  of  this  Exposition  more,  perhaps, 
than  the  seemingly  boundless  affluence  of  the  writer's  resources. 
The  following  introduction  to  an  expository  lecture  on  2  Pet.  iii.  15, 
strikes  us  as  singularly  original  and  happy  : — 

"  Among  the  many  disputes  and  opinions,  what  became  of  the 
soul  of  Lazarus  all  the  time  of  those  four  days  that  his  body  lay  in 
the  grave  ? — Isidore  Pelusiota  thinks  that  it  was  in  heaven  ;  and  he 
proves  it  by  this  reason :  because  Jesus  u-ept  at  his  raising.  Why 
wept  he  ?  Life  is  good,  and  Lazarus  was  his  friend ;  and  to  raise  up 
his  friend  to  life  was  a  good  work  ;  here  was  no  cause  of  tears.  Why- 
then  wept  Christ  ?  What,  did  he  weep  for  company  ?  Because  Mary 
wept,  and  Martha  wept,  and  the  people  wept,  therefore  Jesus  also 
wept.  Was  this  the  cause  of  those  tears  ?  Did  he  weep  for  com- 
pany, or  was  it  for  affection  ?  As  the  Jews  interpreted  his  tears : 
'  Behold  how  he  loved  him  !'  But  we  weep  for  fear  to  lose  a  friend, 
when  sickness  hath  so  far  prevailed  upon  him  that  we  give  him  up 
for  dead,  and  not  for  his  reviving ;  at  his  recovery  we  rather  rejoice. 
Or  was  it  for  the  hardness  of  the  work,  as  Martha  conceived  it  ? 
'  Lord,  by  this  time  he  stinketli,  for  he  hath  been  dead  four  days.' 
Not  so,  certainly ;  even  the  blind  Jews  could  confute  that  opinion : 
'  Could  not  this  man,  which  opened  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  have 
caused  that  even  this  man  should  not  have  died  V  They  might  con- 
clude. He  can  raise  him  with  a  word,  and  to  speak  a  word  is  no 
such  hard  work.  He  did  not,  then,  weep  for  the  difficulty.  Or 
was  it  in  a  mystery  ?  Shall  we  understand,  by  Lazarus  lying  four 
days  in  his  grave,  a  sinner  many  years  buried  in  the  customs  of  sin, 
and  hardness  of  heart  ?  Indeed,  there  is  some  difficulty  in  raising  up 
such  a  dead  soul.  Jesus  himself  weeps  ;  he  spends  not  only  blood, 
but  tears  about  it.  Was  it  for  any  of  these  reasons — for  compas- 
sion, for  affection,  for  difficulty,  or  for  a  mystery — that  Jesus 
wept? 

"Yet  another,  and  (some  think)  a  better  reason,  may  be  given  for 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS. 


his  weeping.  It  is  this  :  Lazarus'  soul  had  now  left  its  mortal  ta- 
bernacle, and  was  delivered  out  of  prison,  from  all  the  pains  and  sins 
and  assaults  and  troubles  which  it  endured  in  the  body.  It  was 
taken  up  by  angels  into  rest,  peace,  and  glory.  Now,  at  this  rais- 
ing up  of  Lazarus,  it  must  be  called  down  to  its  old  dwelling ; 
and  for  this  Jesus  wept — that  a  soul  in  triumph  should  be  brought 
back  to  warfare  ;  from  that  mount  of  infinite  joys  to  descend  into 
the  valley  of  tears  ;  from  that  place  of  peace  to  return  to  the  region 
of  trouble;  from  Abraham's  bosom  to  Adam's  pilgrimage;  for  La- 
zarus again  to  be  made  mortal,  necessitated  again,  besides  all  sor- 
rows, to  death.  This  was  a  change  that  might  well  ask  tears  ;  for 
Jesus  wept.  I  deny  not  but  this  was  for  the  glory  of  God,  and,  in 
effect,  no  more  tlian  happened  to  Moses  after  that  glorious  specula- 
tion ;  to  the  three  apostles  after  Christ's  transfiguration  ;  to  Paul 
after  his  rapture  ;  and  to  John  after  his  vision.  Yet,  for  this  Jesus 
wept." 

We  have  now  placed  1  efore  the  reader  enough,  we  trust,  to  in- 
terest him  in  this  rare  old  preacher  and  expounder  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  to  prepare  him  to  relish  those  of  his  works  which  are  here  re- 
printed. He  will  find  in  them  a  rich  variety  of  intellectual  refresh- 
ment and  of  spiritual  instruction.  To  many  his  name  will  be  alto- 
gether new.  He  belonged  to  a  period  when  the  new  translation  of 
the  Scriptures  had  stirred  up  many  minds  ;  ivhcn  the  English  cha- 
racter was  about  to  be  tried  by  searching  tests ;  when  the  political 
constitution  of  our  country  was  in  the  throes  of  that  crisis  of  blood 
and  fire  from  which  the  unseen  hand  of  God  brought  it  forth,  with 
the  strength  and  majesty  of  our  native  oak,  that  strikes  its  roots  all 
the  deeper  for  the  fury  of  the  storm  ; — when  philosophy  was  taking 
larger  strides  than  she  had  ever  taken  before ;  when  poetry,  in 
every  department,  waved  a  bolder  wing;  when  eloquence  gave 
forth  a  statelier  tone ;  when  the  genius  of  the  land,  rising  up  in  the 
dignity  of  freedom,  was  preparing  for  that  memorable  conflict  which 
was  to  scatter  the  seeds  of  truth,  liberty,  and  religion  through  the 
world. 

Though  not  a  Nonconformist,  he  was  a  Puritan.  Though  a 
Churchman  in  the  days  of  Laud,  he  was  a  Calvinist.  Though  un- 
honoured  by  the  degrees  of  a  University,  he  abounded  in  deep  and 
varied  learning.  Where  he  was  born,  or  when,  and  how  he  died, 
we  know  not.  He  has  left  no  diary,  and  found  no  biographer. 
There  is  no  "  Old  Mortality"  to  explore  his  grave,  and  renew  his 
epitaph.    His  only  monument  is  in  his  works.     In  his  own  day, 


Ixii  IKTRODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS. 

they  must  have  excited  great  attention,  as  we  infer  from  the  places 
in  which  he  preached,  and  from  the  editions  tlirough  which  several 
of  his  publications  passed.  There  is  little  probability  of  their  being 
ever  brought  out  again  as  a  whole ;  nor,  perhaps,  is  this  to  be  de- 
sired, as  every  age  brings  its  own  demands,  and  finds  its  own  supply. 
We  can  account  for  tlie  oljsciirity  in  which  tliey  have  been  so  long 
hidden,  only  by  recollecting  that  there  was  no  great  party  in  the 
Church,  or  in  the  nation,  that  would  be  anxious  to  perpetuate  his 
memory,  or  to  do  him  Iionour.  The  Nonconformists  of  the  age  im- 
mediately following  were  rich  in  authors  of  their  own ;  and  the  the- 
ology brought  into  fashion  at  the  Kestoration  was  not  lilcely  to  ap- 
X)reciate  so  sturdy  a  Calvinist,  and  so  stem  a  rebuker  of  sin. 

The  modern  reader  may  feel  something  like  tediousncss  in  some 
parts  of  his  compositions ;  but  he  will  find  him  always  original,  fresh, 
hearty,  honest,  full  of  matter,  and  plentiful  in  ornament.  His 
quaintness  will  be  rather  a  relief  from  the  tame  monotony  that  has 
so  long  passed  for  elegance.  His  ingenuity  cannot  fail  to  delight. 
The  more  he  is  read,  the  more  engaging  he  becomes ;  and  he  who 
has  read  him  oftenest,  ivill  be  the  most  eager  to  read  him  yet  once 
more.    Truly  he  playeth  well  upon  his  instrument. 

His  voice  is  that  of  one  unknown,  and  yet  familiar.  He  caiTies 
us  with  him  through  the  fields  of  nature,  and  along  the  haunts  of 
busy  men.  He  scatters  round  our  spirits  the  odours  of  Paradise, 
and  regales  ns  -with  the  music  of  the  skies. 

He  brings  us  to  the  Comforter.  He  draws  back  the  vail  of 
heaven.  He  lifts  our  souls  to  God.  He  teaches  us  to  think — to 
pray,  and  shews  us  how  to  live  and  how  to  die.  With  a  strong 
hand  he  tears  the  covering  from  the  hypocrite,  or  rolls  away  the 
stone  from  the  well's  mouth,  that  the  thirsting  may  drink  and  live. 
Clear  in  his  understanding,  he  unravels  the  tangled  threads  of  spe- 
culative theology,  and  weaves  a  web  of  wholesome  doctrine.  Witli 
the  eye  of  a  poet,  the  heart  of  a  saint,  and  the  tongue  of  an  orator, 
he  gives  substance  to  abstractions,  personifies  the  virtues,  paints  the 
beauties  of  holiness,  and  brings  to  the  ear  the  voices  of  the  distant 
and  the  dead.  Like  the  prophet  in  the  A'alley  of  Vision,  he  pro- 
phesies to  the  dry  bones,  and  they  are  clothed  with  flesh ;  he  pro- 
phesies to  "the  IJreath,"  and  the  dry  bones  live.  Life  seems  to 
be  the  grand  distinction  of  his  writiings.  In  his  hand  the  word  of 
truth  becomes  indeed  a  "  lively  oracle,"  and  Christianity  not  a 
thing  but  a  being.  His  appeals  are  as  pungent,  and  as  solemn  as 
sentences  from  a  throne  of  judgment.  To  preachers,  and  all  indeed 
who  desire  to  speak  to  others  of  religion  vrlth  impression  and  effect, 


INTKODUCTION  TO  ADAMS'  WORKS.  Ixiii 

we  earnestly  commend  this  writer.  As  Edwards  conotrains  to 
closeness  of  thought ;  as  Howe  inspires  sublimity  of  sentiment ;  as 
Bates  lights  up  the  soul  with  a  soft  and  silvery  light ;  as  Owen  lades 
the  mind  with  a  harvust  of  ripe  knowledge  ;  as  Taylor  cheers  the 
imagination  with  a  vintage  of  delicious  grapes ;  as  Baxter  fires  the 
heart  with  longings  for  salvation,  first  of  ourselves  and  then  of 
others  ; — even  so  does  Adams  lead  to  those  springs  of  graphic  power, 
of  dramatic  grandeur,  and  of  subduing  pathos,  of  which  it  is  the  fear 
of  many  that  they  are  dried  up.  We  hope  they  are  not  dried  up. 
AVe  believe  they  are  not.  We  cannot  but  think  that  there  are 
minds  now  opening  on  the  awful  solemnities  of  the  Christian  minis- 
try to  whom  this  example  will  bo  inciting.  Let  them  look  at  things 
with  their  own  eyes,  ponder  them  in  silent  and  lonely  thought,  pray 
over  the  fruits  of  such  meditations,  till  they  kindle  into  living  pic- 
tures ;  and  so  let  them  pour  out  their  feelings  in  the  best  words 
they  can  find  ;  there  will  then  be  no  just  complaint  of  the  want  of 
originality  and  power  in  the  English  pulpit.  Scholarship  will  not 
be  mistaken  for  genius.  Traditionary  habits  will  not  be  substituted 
for  manly  devotion.  Dryness  will  not  be  felt  to  be  necessary  to 
orthodoxy.  Poetry,  beauty,  strength,  majesty,  ovenvhelming  ear- 
nestness, will  gather  round  the  preacher  of  the  gospel,  in  one  willing 
audience,  the  scientific  and  the  busy — the  child  and  the  sage — the 
wealthy  and  the  poor  ;  and  the  grand  attraction  to  the  heart  of  man, 
in  all  his  many-hued  varieties,  will  still  be  as  of  old — The  Ceoss  op 
Gbbist. 


TEE 


THREE  DIVINE  SISTERS, 

FAITH,  HOPE,  AND  CHARITY. 


Now  abldeth  faith,  hope,  charity,  these  three ;  but  the  greatest  of  these  is 
charity.-I  Cor.  xiii.  13. 


When  those  three  goddesses,  say  the  poets,  strove  for  the 
golden  ball,  Paris  adjudged  it  to  the  queen  of  Love.  Here 
are  three  celestial  graces,  in  a  holy  emulation,  if  I  may  so 
speak,  striving  for  the  chiefdom  ;  and  our  apostle  gives  it 
to  Love.    The  greatest  of  these  is  Charity. 

Not  that  other  daughters  arc  black,  but  that  Charity 
excels  in  beauty.  We  may  say  of  this  sister,  as  it  was  said 
of  the  good  woman,  "  Many  daughters  have  done  virtuously, 
but  thou  excellest  them  all,"  Prov.  xxxi.  20.  Paul  doth 
not  disparage  any  when  he  sayeth,  Cliarity  is  the  greatest, 
1  Cor.  xiii.  13.  All  stars  are  bright,  though  one  star  may 
differ  from  another  in  glorj'.  AVe  may  say  of  graces,  as  of 
the  captains  of  the  sons  of  Gad  ;  "  the  least  a  hundred,  the 
greatest  a  thousand."  Or  as  the  song  was  of  Saul  and 
David:  "  Saul  hath  slain  his  thousands,  David  his  ten  thou- 

NoTE. — The  Latin  quotations  throughout  this  volume  are  all  trans- 
lated, although  it  has  been  deemed  proper  to  retain  the  Latin  as  in  the 
original  work. 


4 


THE  THREE  DIVINE  SISTERS. 


sands,"  Faith  is  excellent,  so  is  Hope  ;  but  "  the  p^reatest 
of  these  is  Charity." 

These  are  three  strings  often  touched ;  Faith,  whereby 
we  believe  all  God's  promises  to  be  true,  and  ours ;  Hope, 
whereby  we  wait  for  them  with  patience  ;  Charity,  whereby 
we  testify  what  we  believe  and  hope.  He  that  hath  faith, 
cannot  distrust ;  he  that  hath  hope,  cannot  be  put  from  an- 
chor ;  he  that  hath  charity,  will  not  lead  a  hcentious  life, 
for  love  keeps  the  commandments. 

For  method's  sake  we  might  first  confer  them  all,  then 
prefer  one.  But  I  will  speak  of  them  according  to  the 
three  degrees  of  comparison.  I.  Positively.  2.  Compa- 
ratively. 3.  Superlatively.  The  greatest  of  these  is  Charity. 
Under  which  method  we  have  involved,  1.  Their  order, 
how  they  are  ranked.  2.  Their  nature,  how  they  are  de- 
fined. 3.  Their  distinction,  how  they  are  differenced.  4. 
Their  number,  how  manv  are  specified.  5.  Their  confer- 
ence, how  they  are  compared.  6.  Lastly,  their  dignity, 
and  therein  how  far  one  is  preferred. 

Faith  is  that  grace  which  makes  Christ  ours,  and  all  bis 
benefits.  God  gives  it.  "  Faith  is  given  by  the  Spirit," 
1  Cor.  xii.  9.  By  the  word  preached.  "  Faith  cometh  by 
hearing,"  Rom.  x.  17.  For  Christ's  sake.  "  To  you  it 
is  given  for  Christ's  sake,  to  believe  in  his  name,"  Phil,  i 
29.  This  virtue  is  no  sooner  given  of  God,  but  it  gives 
God.  So  soon  as  thou  bclievest,  Christ  is  thine  and  all 
his.  "  For  he  that  gives  us  Christ,  will  also  with  him  give 
us  aU  things." 

"  Without  this,  it  is  impossible  to  please  God,"  Heb.  xi 
6.  Let  us  not  otherwise  dare  to  come  into  his  presence. 
There  is  nothing  but  wrath  in  him,  for  sin  in  us.  Joseph 
charged  his  brethren  that  they  should  come  no  more  in  his 
sight,  unless  they  brought  Benjamin  with  them.  We  come 
at  our  peril  into  God's  presence,  if  we  leave  his  beloved 
Benjamin,  our  dear  Jesus,  behind  us.  ^Mien  the  philoso- 
pher heard  of  the  enraged  emperor's  menace,  that  the  next 
time  he  saw  bun  he  would  kill  him,  he  took  up  the  em- 


THE  THREE  DIVINE  SISTERS. 


5 


peror's  little  son  in  his  arms,  and  saluted  him  with  apotcs- 
ne.  Thou  canst  not  now  strike  me.  God  is  angry  with 
every  man  for  his  sins.  Happy  is  he  that  can  catch  up  his 
son  Jesus :  for  in  whose  arms  soever  the  Lord  sees  his 
son,  he  will  spare  him.  The  men  of  TjTe  were  fain  to 
intercede  to  Herod  by  Blastus,  Acts  xii.  20.  Our  inter- 
cession to  God  is  made  by  a  higher  and  surer  way ;  not  by 
his  servant,  but  by  his  Son. 

Now  this  Mediator  is  not  had  without  a  medium,  Faith. 
Fides  medium,  a  quo  remedium ;  Faith  is  that  means  where- 
by we  lay  hold  on  this  Christ.  Diffidence  shall  never  have 
Jesus  for  the  advocate.  Though  every  man  may  say,  / 
believe,  Lord  help  my  unbelief. 

Saint  Paul  useth  one  word  that  very  significantly  ex- 
presseth  Faith,  calling  it  "  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen," 
Heb.  xi.  1 .  Fides  est  credere  quod  non  vides ;  eujus  merces 
est  videre  quod  credis :  Faith  is  to  believe  what  thou  seest 
not ;  whose  reward  is  to  see  what  thou  believest.  Now 
the  metaphor  may  be  explained  thus : 

1.  Christ  dying  made  a  will  or  a  testament,  sealing  it 
with  his  own  blood,  wherein  he  bequeathed  a  certain  legacy 
of  inheritance  to  his  brethren  with  himself.  "  Father,  I 
will  that  they  whom  thou  hast  given  me,  be  with  me  where 
I  am  ;  that  they  may  behold  my  glory  which  thou  hast 
given  me,"  John  xvii.  24.  This  is  the  substance  of  his 
will  and  testament. 

2.  The  conveyance  of  this  will  is  the  gospel,  Whosoever 
believes,  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved.  A  large  patent,  a 
free  and  full  grant.  There  is  no  exception  of  persons, 
either  in  regard  of  state,  quality,  or  countrj'.  "  There  is 
neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  bond  nor  free,  male  nor  female  : 
for  ye  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus,"  Gal.  iii.  28.  The  con- 
veyance is  of  an  ample  latitude. 

3.  The  executor  or  administrator  of  this  will,  if  I  may  so 
speak,  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  Comforter  which  Christ  pro- 
mised to  "  send,  that  should  lead  us  into  all  truth,"  John 
xiv.  16.  This  Spirit  begets  faith  and  sanctification  in  our 
hearts,  puts  Abba  into  our  mouths,  applies  the  merits  of 


6  THE  THREE  DIVINE  SISTERS. 

our  Saviour  to  our  souls  ;  and  indeed  "  seals  us  up  to  the 
day  of  redemption,"  Eph.  iv.  30.  Without  his  assistance 
•we  could  appropriate  no  comfort  by  his  will ;  nor  challenge 
any  legacy  therein  bequeathed. 

4.  Lastly,  The  evidence  whereby  every  particular  man 
apportions  to  himself  his  title  and  interest,  is  his  Faith. 
Thou,  unregcnerate  soul,  pleadest  a  legacy  in  this  will.  Go 
to,  let  us  join  issue,  and  come  to  trial.  AVhere  is  thy  evi- 
dence ?  Here  it  is,  my  Faith.  This  evidence,  as  all  other, 
must  have  some  witnesses.  Produce  thine  ;  and  before  the 
bar  of  the  great  Chief  Justice,  the  King's  Bench  of  heaven, 
let  them  not  lie. 

The  first  is  thy  Conscience.  Alas !  give  this  leave  to 
speak  without  interruption  (and  one  day  it  shall  not  flatter 
thee).  This  saith,  thy  evidence  is  false  and  counterfeit; 
forged  by  a  wretched  scrivener,  flesh  and  blood :  for  thy 
heart  trusts  in  uncertainly  good  riches,  or  in  certainly  bad 
vanities,  more  than  in  the  living  God. 

The  next  is  thy  Life.  Alas !  this  is  so  speckled  with  sins, 
so  raw  and  sore  with  lusts,  that  as  a  body  broken  out  into 
blanes  and  biles,  argues  a  corrupted  liver  or  stomach  with- 
in :  so  the  spots  and  ulcers  of  thy  life  demonstrate  a  putre- 
fied heart.  Lo,  now  thy  witnesses.  Thou  art  gone  at  the 
common  law  of  justice :  It  is  only  the  chancery  of  mercy 
that  must  clear  thee.  What  wilt  thou  now  do  ?  "WTiat,  but 
humble  thyself  in  recompense  for  thy  false  faith  ;  take 
prayer  in  thy  company,  for  pardon  of  former  errors ;  go  by 
the  word  preached  ;  for  the  minister  is,  as  it  were,  the  re- 
gister to  ingross  the  deed ;  and  desire  God  on  the  humbled 
knees  of  thy  soul,  to  give  thee  a  new  and  a  true  evidence. 
Let  this  instruct  us  to  some  uses. 

1.  Be  sure  that  thy  evidence  is  good.  Satan  is  a  subtle 
lawyer  (and  thou  dost  not  doubt  of  his  malice),  and  will 
soon  pick  holes  in  it ;  find  out  tricks  and  cavils  against  it. 
He  will  vrinnow  and  sift  thee,  grain  after  grain  :  take  heed  lest 
thou  run  not  all  to  chaflT.  There  is  a  faith  of  saints.  "  Now 
live  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me :  and  the  life  that  I  Uve, 
I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,"  Gal.  ii.  20.  And 


THE  THREE  DIVmE  SISTERS. 


7 


there  k  a  faith  of  devils.  "  Thou  believest,  thou  doest  well : 
the  devils  also  believe  and  tremble,"  James  ii.  19.  There  is 
a  faith  which  cannot  perish.  "  Whosoever  believeth  in  him, 
shall  not  perish,"  John  iii.  1.5.  And  there  is  a  faith,  that 
in  the  time  of  temptation  falls  away.  The  rocky  ground 
receives  the  word,  and  for  a  while  believeth,  but  in  the 
time  of  temptation  falls  away,  Luke  viii.  13.  There  is  a 
faith  which  the  world  overcometh ;  such  was  the  faith  of 
Demas.  And  there  is  a  faith  that  overcometh  the  world : 
"  This  is  the  victory  whereby  we  overcome  the  world,  even 
our  faith,"  1  John  v.  4.  There  is  a  dead,  idle,  and  infi-uc- 
tuous  faith  ;  and  there  is  a  lively,  active,  working  faith, 
Jam.  ii.  14  :  "Faith  worketh  by  love,"  Gal.  v.  6.  Be  sure, 
then,  that  thy  faith  will  endure  the  touch,  even  the  fiery 
trial. 

2.  Do  not  lose  such  a  legacy  as  Christ  hath  bequeathed 
for  want  of  faith.  Glorious  is  the  inheritance ;  but  where 
is  thy  evidence  ?  Flatter  not  thy  soul  with  hope  of  this 
possession,  without  the  assurance  of  faith,  Christ  gives  his 
life  for  his  sheep.  What  is  this  to  thee  that  art  a  wolf,  a 
swine,  a  goat  ?  God  dresseth  his  vineyard,  pruneth  it,  is 
provident  over  it.  What  is  this  to  thee  that  art  a  thorn, 
and  no  branch  of  the  vine  ?  Look  thou  to  be  weeded  up, 
and  thrown  out.  The  blood  of  Christ  runs  fresh  ;  but 
where  is  thy  pipe  of  faith  to  derive  it  from  his  side  to  thy 
conscience  ?  Say  it  should  shower  mercy,  yet  if  thou  want- 
est  faith,  all  would  fall  besides  thee.  There  would  be  no 
more  favour  for  thee  than  if  there  was  no  Saviour. 

Let  then  no  miseries  of  earth,  much  less  pleasures,  quench 
thy  faith.  Satan  seeing  this  spark  of  fire  kindled  in  thy 
heart,  would  blow  it  out  with  storms,  or  work  thee  to 
smother  it  thyself  with  vanities,  or  to  rake  it  up  in  the  dead 
embers  of  cold  security  ;  but  believe  against  sight  and  sense. 
As  David  prophesied  that  he  should  be  a  king.  Eo  plus 
hdbet  fides  meriti,  quo  minus  argumenti ;  Faith  shall  have  so 
much  the  more  recompense,  as  it  had  the  less  argument  to 
induce  it. 


8 


THE  THREE  DIVINE  SISTERS. 


Hope  is  the  sweetest  friend  that  ever  kept  a  distressed 
soul  company  ;  it  beguiles  the  tediousness  of  the  way,  all  the 
miseries  of  our  pilgrimage. 

Therefore  dmn  spiro  spero,  said  the  heathen ;  but  dum 
expiro  spero,  says  the  Christian.  The  one,  whilst  I  live,  I 
hope ;  the  other  also,  when  I  die,  I  hope :  so  Job,  /  will 
hope  in  thee  though  thou  killest  me.  It  tells  the  soul  such 
sweet  stories  of  the  succeeding  joys ;  what  comforts  there  are 
in  heaven  ;  what  peace,  what  joy,  what  triumphs,  marriage- 
songs,  and  hallelujahs  there  are  in  that  countrj-  whither  she 
is  travelling,  that  she  goes  merrily  away  with  her  present 
burden. 

It  holds  the  head  whilst  it  aches,  and  gives  invisible  drink 
to  the  thirsty  conscience.  It  is  a  hberty  to  them  that  are 
in  prison,  and  the  sweetest  physic  to  the  sick.  Saint  Pa«l 
calls  it  an  anchor,  Heb.  vi.  19.  Let  the  winds  blow,  and 
the  storms  beat,  and  the  waves  swell,  yet  the  anchor  stays 
the  ship.  It  breaks  through  all  difficulties,  and  makes  way 
for  the  soul  to  follow  it.  It  teaeheth  Abraham  to  expect 
fruit  from  a  withered  stock ;  and  Joseph  in  a  dungeon,  to 
look  for  the  sun  and  stars'  obeisance.  It  counsels  a  man, 
as  Esdras  did  the  woman  who,  having  lost  her  son,  woald 
needs  die  languishing  in  the  disconsolate  fields  ;  Go  thy  way 
into  the  city  to  thine  husband,  2  Esd.  x.  17.  Mourn  not, 
wretch,  for  the  loss  of  some  worldly  and  perishing  deUght : 
sit  not  down  and  die,  though  the  fruit  of  thy  womb  be 
swallowed  in  the  earth  ;  but  go  home  to  the  city,  the  city 
of  mercy,  to  tMne  husband,  even  thy  husband  Jesus  Christ; 
let  him  comfort  thee.    This  is  the  voice  of  Hope. 

Though  misery  be  present,  comfort  absent,  though  through 
the'  dim  and  waterish  humour  of  thy  heart,  thou  canst  spy 
no  dehverance  ;  yet  such  is  the  nature  of  Hope,  that  futura 
facta  dicit.  It  speaks  of  future  things  as  if  they  were  pre- 
sent. "We  are  saved  by  hope,"  Rom.  \Tii.  24.  Yet  sic  lihe- 
rati,  ut  adhuc  speranda  sit  hwreditas,  postea  possidenda.  Nunc 


THE  THREK  DIVINE  SISTERS. 


9 


hahemus  jus  ad  rem,  nondum  in  re :  Wc  have  our  inheritance 
in  hope ;  which  gives  us  the  right  of  the  substance,  though 
not  the  substance  of  the  right :  assurance  of  the  possession, 
though  not  possession  of  the  thing  assured.  This  tells  us, 
that  nemo  valde  dolehit  et  diu  ;  no  man  should  grieve  much 
and  long.  God  making  our  misery  aut  tolerabilem,  aut 
brevem,  either  sufferable  or  short. 

These  are  the  comforts  of  Hope.  Now,  that  you  may 
not  be  deceived,  there  is  (as  I  said  before  of  Faith)  a  thing 
like  Hope,  which  is  not  it. 

There  is  a  bold  and  presumptuous  Hope,  an  ignorant  se- 
curity and  ungrounded  persuasion,  the  very  Ulusion  of  the 
devil,  who,  when  he  cannot  prevail  with  dovmright  evil, 
cozens  with  the  shadows  of  goodness  :  that  how  wickedly 
and  wretchedly  soever  a  man  shall  live,  though  he  furs  him- 
self warm  with  poor  men's  hearts,  though  he  forbids  his 
brains  (as  on  covenant)  one  sober  hour  in  the  year  to  thmk 
of  heaven,  though  he  thirst  for  carouses  of  blood,  though  he 
strives  to  powder  a  whole  kindgom  vnth  the  seed-corns  o. 
death  and  massacre,  though  he  carries  half  a-dozen  impro- 
priate churches  on  his  sacrilegious  back,  though  he  out-thun- 
der heaven  with  blasphemies,  though  he  trample  under  fiis 
profane  foot  the  precious  blood  of  God's  Son ;  yet  still  he 
hopes  to  be  saved  by  the  mercy  of  God.  But  we  will  sooner 
cast  pearls  to  s>vine,  and  bread  to  dogs,  than  the  comforts  of 
Sion  to  such.  We  say  not.  Rejoice  and  tremble,  but  tremble 
without  rejoicing.  We  sing  not  to  them,  With  the  Lord  is 
mercy,  that  he  might  be  feared ;  but  with  the  Lord  is  judgment 
and  vengeance ;  with  him  is  plague  and  pestilence,  storm  and 
tempest,  horror  and  anguish,  indignation  and  wrath,  that 
he  may  Ije  feared.  Against  this  hope  we  shut  up  the  bosom 
of  consolation,  and  the  promise  of  safety  by  the  merits  of 
Christ ;  and  so  far  as  we  are  charged,  the  very  gates  of 
everlasting  life. 

There  is  a  Hope,  sober,  faithful,  weU-groimded,  well- 
guarded,  well-assured.  This  is  like  a  house  built  on  a  rock. 
The  rock  is  God's  promised  mercy ;  the  building,  hope  in 
Christ :  it  is  (as  it  were)  moated  or  intrenched  about  with 


10 


THE  THREE  DIVEfE  SISTERS. 


his  blood  by  the  sweet  testimony  of  God's  Spirit  to  the  con- 
science :  known  by  the  charity  of  the  inhabitants ;  for  it 
keeps  bread  for  the  hungry,  clothes  for  the  naked,  enter- 
tainment for  strangers.  To  this  Hope  we  open  the  doors  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  and  so  far  as  the  commission  of 
the  keys  leads  us,  we  unlock  the  gates  of  eternal  life,  and 
allow  entrance.    We  call  this  the  blessed  Hope. 

Charity  is  an  excellent  virtue,  and  therefore  rare.  If  «rer 
in  this  contentious  age,  wherein  fratrum  quoque  gratia  rara 
est,  the  imfeigned  love  of  brothers  is  strange.  Woe  is  me  ! 
before  I  am  come  to  define  what  love  is,  I  am  fallen  into  a 
declamation  against  the  want  of  it.  "WTiat  is  here  chiefly 
commended  is  chiefly  condemned,  as  if  we  had  no  need  of 
mutual  succour,  nor  could  spare  a  room  in  oiu:  hearts  to 
entertain  Charity,  lest  we  should  expel  our  old  loved  guests, 
fraud,  malice,  and  ambition.  Love  hath  two  proper  objects, 
the  one  immediate  and  principal ;  the  other,  mediate  and 
limited. 

The  proper  and  immediate  object  of  our  love  is  God. 
This  is  the  great  commandment.  Thou  shall  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart,  with  all  thy  soul,  with  all  thy  strength. 
As  if  he  would  not  leave  out  the  least  sinew  or  string  of  the 
heart,  the  least  faculty  or  power  of  the  soul,  the  least  organ 
or  action  of  the  strength.  So  Bernard.  "  With  all  the  heart," 
that  is,  afiectionately.  "  With  all  thy  soul,"  that  is,  wisely. 
"  With  all  thy  strength,"  that  is,  constantly.  Let  the  zeal 
of  thy  heart  inflame  thy  love  to  God ;  let  the  wisdom  of  thy 
soul  guide  it ;  let  the  strength  of  thy  might  confirm  it.  All 
the  affections  of  the  heart,  all  the  election  of  the  soul,  all  the 
administration  of  the  body.  The  soul  judgeth,  the  will  pro- 
secutes, the  strength  executes.  God  can  brook  no  rivals  ; 
no  division  betwixt  him  and  Mammon,  betwixt  him  and 
Melchora,  betwixt  him  and  Baal,  betwixt  him  and  BeUal. 
Causa  diligendi  Deum  Deus  est,  modus  sine  modo :  The  cause 
and  motive  to  love  God,  is  God  ;  the  manner  is  without 
measure.    3Iinus  amat  te,  qui  aliquid  amat  prater  te,  quod 


THE  THREE  DIVINE  SISTERS. 


11 


non  amat  propter  te :  He  poorly  loves  God  that  loves  any 
thing  besides  him,  which  he  doth  not  love  for  him. 

The  subordinate  object  of  love  is  man,  and  his  love  is  the 
effect  of  the  former  cause,  and  an  actual  demonstration  of 
the  other  inward  affection.  AVaters  coming  from  the  sea 
boil  through  the  veins  of  the  earth  till  they  become  springs, 
and  those  springs  rivers,  and  those  rivers  run  back  to  the 
sea  again.  All  man's  love  must  be  carried  in  the  stream 
of  God's  love.  Blessed  is  he  that  loves  amicum  in  Domino, 
inimicum  pro  Domino ;  his  friend  in  the  Lord,  his  enemy  for 
the  Lord.  "  Owe  nothing  to  any  man,  but  this,  that  ye  love 
one  another,"  Rom.  xiii.  8.  Other  debts,  once  truly  paid, 
are  no  more  due  ;  but  this  debt,  the  more  we  pay  it,  the 
more  we  owe  it ;  and  we  stiU  do  acknowledge  ourselves 
debtors  to  all,  when  we  are  clear  with  all ;  proverbially,  / 
owe  him  nothing  hut  love.  The  communication  of  this  riches 
doth  not  impoverish  the  proprietary ;  the  more  he  spends  of 
his  stock,  the  more  he  hath.  "  There  is  that  scattereth, 
and  yet  increaseth,"  Prov.  ii.  24.  But  he  that  will  hoard 
the  treasure  of  his  charity,  shall  grow  poor,  empty,  and 
bankrupt.  "  There  is  that  withholdeth  more  than  is  meet, 
but  it  tendeth  unto  poverty."  Love  is  the  abridgment  of 
the  law,  the  new  precept  of  the  Gospel.  Luther  calls  it  the 
shortest  and  the  longest  divinity :  short,  for  the  form  of 
words ;  long,  yea,  everlasting,  for  the  use  and  practice ;  for 
Charity  shall  never  cease. 

Thus  for  the  first  degree  of  comparison,  positively.  The 
second  is  comparative;  where,  though  it  be  said  virtues  and 
great  men  must  not  be  compared,  yet  we  may  without  of- 
fence bring  them  to  a  holy  conference ;  else  how  shall  we 
perceive  the  apostle's  intended  scope,  the  transcendency  of 
Charity  ?  I  will  therefore  first  confer  Faith  with  Hope,  and 
then  with  them  both,  Charity. 

The  distinction  between  Faith  and  Hope  is  nice ;  and  must 
warily  be  discovered.  I  will  reduce  the  differences  into 
three  respects,  of  order,  office,  and  object. 

For  order;  Paul  gives  Faith  the  precedency.  "  Faith  is 
the  ground  of  things  hoped  for,"  Heb.  xi.  Faith  always  goes 


12 


THE  XnitEE  DIVINE  SISTERS. 


before,  Hope  follows  alter  ;  and  may  in  some  sort  be  said  to  be 
the  daughter  of  Faith.  For  it  is  as  impossible  for  a  man  to 
hope  for  that  yrhich  he  believes  not,  as  for  a  painter  to  draw 
a  picture  in  the  air.  Indeed,  more  is  believed  than  is  hoped 
for ;  but  nothing  is  hoped  for  which  is  not  beUeved.  So 
that  on  necessity,  in  respect  of  order,  Faith  must  precede 
Hope. 

For  office ;  Faith  is  the  Christian's  logic  :  Hope  his  rheto- 
ric. Faith  perceives  what  is  to  be  done,  Hope  gives  ala- 
crity to  the  doing  it.  Faith  guides,  adviseth,  rectifieth ; 
Hope  courageously  encounters  with  all  adversaries.*  There- 
fore Faith  is  compared  to  a  doctor  in  the  schools,  Hope  to 
a  captain  in  the  wars.  Faith  discerns  the  truth,  Hope 
fights  against  impatience,  heaviness  of  spirit,  infirmity,  de- 
jectedness,  desperation.  Divines  have  alluded  to  the  differ- 
ence between  faith  and  hope  in  divinity,  and  to  that  between 
wisdom  and  valour  in  philosophy.  Valoiu-  without  wisdom  is 
rashness,  %visdom  without  valour  is  cowardice.  Faith  without 
Hope  is  knowledge  without  valour  to  resist  Satan  ;  Hope 
without  Faith  is  rash  presumption,  and  an  indiscreet  daring  ; 
you  see  their  different  office. 

For  object ;  Faith's  object  is  the  absolute  word,  and  infal- 
lible promise  of  God  ;  Hope's  object  is  the  thing  promised. 
Fides  intuetur  vcrbum  rei,  Spes  verb  rem  verbi :  Faith  looks 
to  the  word  of  the  thing,  Hope  to  the  thing  of  the  word. 
So  that  Faith  hath  for  the  object  the  truth  of  God ;  Hope  the 
goodness  of  God.  Faith  is  of  things  both  good  and  bad, 
Hope  of  good  things  only.  A  man  believes  there  is  a  hell, 
as  truly  as  he  believes  there  is  a  heaven  ;  but  he  fears  the 
one,  and  hopes  only  for  the  other.  Faith  hath  for  its  ob- 
jects things  past,  present,  future.  Past,  it  believes  Christ 
dead  for  our  sins,  and  risen  again  for  our  justification.  Present, 
that  he  now  sits  at  the  right  hand  of  his  Father  in  heaven. 
Future,  that  he  shall  come  to  judge  quick  and  dead.  Hope 
only  respects  and  expects  things  to  come.  For  a  man  can- 
not hope  for  that  which  he  hath.    You  sec  how  in  some 

•  Alstcd  System.  Theolog.  lib.  3.    I.oc.  17.  Aug. 


THE  THREE  DIVINE  SISTERS. 


18 


sense  Hope  excels  Faith.  For  there  is  a  faith  in  the  devils  ; 
they  believe  the  truth  of  God,  the  certainty  of  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  they  acknowledge  Christ  the  Judge  of  quick  and 
dead  ;  therefore  cry,  "  Why  tormentest  thou  us  before  the 
time  ?"  They  have  faith  joined  with  a  Popish  preparatory 
good  work,  /ear;  "the  devils  believe  and  tremble  :"  yea, 
they  pray,  they  beseech  Christ  not  to  send  them  into  the 
deeps  ;  what  then  want  they  ?  Hope,  a  confident  expecta- 
tion of  the  mercy  of  God  ;  this  they  can  never  have.  They 
beb'eve  ;  they  cannot  hope.  This  is  the  life  of  Christians,  and 
the  want  makes  devils.  If  it  were  not  for  this  hope,  "  we 
of  all  men  were  most  miserable,"  1  Cor.  xv.  19. 

Charity  differs  from  them  both.  These  three  divine 
graces  are  a  created  Trinity  ;  and  have  some  glimmering  re- 
semblance of  the  Trinity  uncreate.  For  as  there  the  Son 
b  begotten  of  the  Father,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  proceeds  from 
them  both ;  so  here,  a  true  faith  begets  a  constant  hope, 
and  from  them  proceeds  Charity.  "  Thus  is  God's  temple 
built  in  our  hearts,"  said  Augustine.  The  foundation  where- 
of is  Faith ;  Hope  the  erection  of  the  walls ;  Charity  the  per- 
fection of  the  roof 

In  the  godly  all  these  three  are  united  together,  and  can- 
not be  sundered.  We  believe  in  God's  mercy,  we  hope 
for  his  mercy,  and  we  love  him  for  his  mercy.  Faith  says, 
there  are  good  things  prepared  :  Hope  says,  they  are  pre- 
pared for  me  :  Charity  says,  I  endeavour  to  walk  worthy  of 
them.  So  that,  what  good  Faith  believes  shall  be,  Hope 
expects  for  herself,  and  Charity  aims  at  the  way  to  get  it, 
by  keeping  the  commandments.  Faith  apprehends  both  re- 
ward and  punishment :  Hope  only  looks  for  good  things  for 
ourselves  :  Charity  desires  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  good 
of  all  our  brethren. 

The  second  degree  gives  way  to  the  third,  last,  best ;  the 
superlative.  "  But  the  greatest  of  these  is  Charity."  Time 
will  not  afford  me  to  answer  all  the  objections  which  subtle 
wits  have  ignorantly  deduced  from  these  words.  Neither 
were  it  to  our  purpose,  then,  to  write  Iliads  after  Ho- 
mer, they  have  been  so  soundly  and  satisfyingly  answered. 


14 


THE  THREE  DIVINE  SISTERS. 


I  will  only  mention  two,  and  but  report  a  responsive  so- 
lution. 

1.  The  principal  promises  arc  made  to  believers.  "  ^^^lo- 
soever  believeth,  and  is  baptieed,  shall  be  saved."  So  no  less 
a  promise  is  made  to  lovers,  "  All  things  shall  work  to- 
gether for  good  to  those  that  love  God,"  &c.  Rom.  vili.  28. 
"  God,"  saith  the  Psalmist,  "  is  near  to  those  that  call  upon 
him."  He  is  close  by  all  those  that  suffer  for  him  :  but  he 
is  within  those  that  love  him.  Here  is  prope,  intra,  inttis. 
Tliis  same  intra,  within,  is  of  the  highest  degree.  "  God  is 
love,  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love,  dwelleth  in  God,  and 
God  in  him,"  1  John  iv.  16.     O  unspeakable  felicity! 

2.  If  charity  be  greater  than  fiiith,  then  is  not  man  jus- 
tified by  faith  only.  Inconsequent  illation  !  St  Paul  com- 
mends not  love  for  the  virtue  of  justification :  it  may  fail  in 
that  particular  action,  yet  receive  no  impeachment  to  the 
excellency  of  it.  By  demonstration.  A  prince  doth  excel  a 
peasant  :  shall  any  man  therefore  infer,  that  he  can  plough 
better,  or  have  more  skill  in  tillage?  A  philosopher  doth 
excel  a  mechanic,  though  he  cannot  grind  so  well  as  a 
miller,  or  Umn  so  cunningly  as  a  painter.  A  man  is  better 
than  a  beast:  who  but  a  madman  will  therefore  conclude, 
that  he  can  run  faster  than  a  horse,  draw  more  than  an  ox, 
or  carry  a  greater  burden  than  an  elephant  ?  Though  he 
fail  in  these  particular  acts,  yet  none  will  deny  but  he  is 
better  than  a  beast. 

The  truth  is,  that  in  faith  stands  originally  our  fellowship 
with  God.  Into  that  hand  he  poureth  the  riches  of  his 
mercy  for  salvation  ;  and  were  the  actions  of  charity  never 
so  great  and  (foolishly  thought)  meritorious,  yet,  if  not  the 
effects  of  a  true  saving  faith,  they  are  lost,  and  a  man  may 
for  his  charity  go  to  the  devil.  And  though  they  would 
plead  from  the  form  of  the  last  judgment  (lilatth.  xxv.)  that 
God  accepts  men  to  life  for  their  deeds  of  charity,  feeding, 
clothing,  relieving  ;  yet  the  Scripture  fully  testifies,  that  God 
neither  accepts  these,  nor  ourselves  for  these,  further  than 
they  are  the  effects  of  a  true  faith.  Our  persons  being  first 
justified  by  fiuth  in  Christ,  then  God  will  crown  our  works. 


THE  TJIEEE  DIVINE  SISTERS. 


15 


Yet  a  Christian  must  work  :  for  no  nudifidiati,  as  well  as  no 
nullifidian,  shall  be  admitted  into  heaven.  "  Therefore," 
saith  the  apostle,  "  faith  worketh  by  love,"  Gal.  v.  6.  For 
faith  is  able  to  justify  of  itself,  not  to  work  of  itself  Tho- 
hand  alone  can  receive  an  alms,  but  cannot  cut  a  piece  of 
wood  without  an  axe  or  some  instrument.  Faith  is  the 
Christian's  hand,  and  can  without  help  receive  God's  given 
grace  into  the  heart ;  but  to  produce  the  fi-uits  of  obedience, 
and  to  work  the  actual  duties  required,  it  must  have  an  in- 
strument ;  add  love  to  it,  and  it  worketh  by  love.  So  that 
the  one  is  our  justification  before  God,  and  the  other  our 
testification  before  men. 

Theii"  number  is  considerable  ;  these  three,  neither  more 
nor  less.  Why  not  two  ?  as  there  be  two  parts  in  man, 
his  understanding  and  will ;  to  direct  these  two,  is  sufficient 
to  salvation.  By  Faith  the  understanding  is  kept  safe  ;  by 
Charity,  the  will  ;  what  needed  then  the  mention  of  Hope  ? 
Yes,  Hope  is  the  daughter  of  Faith,  and  the  mother  of 
Charity  ;  and  as  man  hath  an  understanding  to  be  informed, 
and  a  will  to  be  rectified,  so  he  hath  a  heart  to  be  com- 
forted, which  is  the  proper  office  of  Hope. 

But  why  then  speaks  he  of  no  more  than  three  ?  St 
Peter  mentions  eight  together,  2  Pet.  i.  6.  And  St  Paul 
himself  in  another  place,  puts  in  nine.  Gal.  v.  22.  Why 
are  all  these  left  out  in  this  glorious  catalogue  ?  Is  it 
enough  to  have  these  three  and  no  more  ?  Are  the  rest 
superfluous,  and  may  well  be  spared  ?  Nothing  so,  but  all 
those  virtues  are  comprehended  under  these  three.  As  to 
the  trade  of  a  stationer,  some  are  required  to  print,  some  to 
correct,  some  to  fold,  others  to  bind,  and  others  to  garnish  ; 
yet  all  belongs  to  one  trade.  There  be  many  rays  and  but 
one  sun  ;  there  is  heat  and  light  in  one  fire.  So  all  those 
graces  may  be  reduced  to  these  three  principals,  as  we  read 
1  Thess.  i.  3,  the  work  of  faith,  and  labour  of  love,  and 
patience  of  hope ;  temperance,  patience,  godliness,  &c.,  are 
all  servants  to  these  three  great  princes,  Faith,  Hope,  and 
Charity. 


16 


THE  THREE  DIVINE  SISTERS. 


Lastly,  for  the  prclation.  ^Yherein  consisteth  this  high 
transcendency  of  Charity  ?    In  six  privileges. 

1.  For  latitude,  Love  is  the  greatest.  Faith  and  Hope 
are  restrained  within  the  limits  of  our  particular  persons. 

'  The  just  man  lives  by  his  own  faith,  and  hopes  good  to  him- 
self; but  love  is  like  the  vine  which  God  brought  out  of 
Egypt,  and  cast  out  the  heathen  to  plant  it,  which  covereth 
the  mountains  with  the  shadow  of  the  boughs,  and  spreads 
the  branches  unto  the  sea  and  the  rivers,  Psal.  Ixxx.  8.  It 
is  like  the  sun  in  the  sky,  that  throws  his  comfortable  beams 
upon  all,  and  forbears  not  to  warm  even  that  earth  that 
beareth  weeds.  Love  extends  to  earth  and  heaven.  In 
heaven  it  affecteth  God  the  I\Iaker  and  mover  :  the  angels 
as  our  guardians ;  the  triumphant  saints,  for  their  pious 
sanctit)'.  On  earth,  it  embraceth  those  that  fear  the  Lord 
especially ;  it  wisheth  conversion  to  those  that  do  not ;  it 
counsels  the  rich ;  it  comforts  the  poor ;  it  reverenceth 
superiors,  respectcth  inferiors  ;  doth  good  to  friends,  no  evil 
to  foes  ;  wisheth  well  to  all.  This  is  the  latitude  of  Charity. 
Faith  hath  but  narrow  limits,  but  tlie  extent  of  Love  is 
universal,  not  bounded  with  the  world.  Faith  believes  for 
thyself,  but  Charity  derives  and  drives  the  effects  of  thy 
faith  to  others.  Thy  faith  relieves  thyself,  thy  charity  thy 
brother. 

2.  For  perpetuity  and  continuance.  Faith  lays  hold  on 
God's  gracious  promise  for  everlasting  salvation  ;  hope  ex- 
pects this  with  patience  ;  but  when  God  shall  fulfil  his  word 
in  us  with  joy,  then  faith  shall  be  at  an  end  ;  hope  at  an 
end ;  but  love  shall  remain  between  God  and  us  an  ever- 
lasting bond.  Therefore  saith  the  apostle,  now  ahidetli  faith, 
&c.  Now:  now  three,  then  one,  and  that  is  Charity.  AMien 
we  have  possession  of  those  pleasures  which  we  hoped  and  be- 
lieved, what  longer  use  is  there  of  Faith  or  Hope  ?  But  our 
loves  shall  not  end  with  our  lives.  We  shall  everlastinglj'  love 
our  Maker,  Saviour,  Sanctifier,  angels,  and  saints  ;  where  no 
discontent  shall  breed  any  ire  in  our  hallelujahs.  If  the  use 
of  love  be  so  comfortable  on  earth,  what  may  we  think  it 
will  be  in  heaven  ? 


THE  THREE  DIVINE  SISTERS. 


17 


Thus  saith  Chrysostom.  Only  love  is  eternal.  Now,  Faith 
and  Hope  hold  up  the  hands  of  Charity,  as  Aaron  and  Hur 
held  up  the  hands  of  Moses  ;  but  then  their  use  and  office 
shall  cease.  Tunc  non  erit  apes,  quando  erit  res :  Hope  shall 
not  be,  when  the  thing  hoped  is.  Hope  shaU  bring  in  pos- 
session, possession  shall  thrust  out  Hope.  Therefore,  saith 
Augustine,  is  charity  greater.  Et  si  non  propter  eminentiam,  ta- 
men  propter  permanentiam :  If  not  for  the  excellency,  yet  for 
the  perpetuity. 

Thus  to  justify  a  man.  Faith  is  greater ;  but  in  a  man 
justified,  Charity  is  greater.  Let  Faith  alone  with  the  great 
work  of  oui-  salvation ;  but  that  finished,  it  shall  end,  and 
so  jield  superiority  to  Love,  which  shall  endure  for  ever. 

3.  For  the  honour  and  likeness  it  hath  unto  God.  Faith 
and  Hope  make  not  a  man  like  God,  but  Charity  doth.  He 
neither  can  be  said  to  beUeve,  nor  to  hope  ;  but  we  know 
he  loves ;  yea,  he  is  love. 

4.  In  respect  of  the  titles,  Charity  excelleth.  It  is  No- 
vum Mandatum,  the  New  Commandment ;  Faith  was  never 
called  so.  It  is  vinculum  pe>-fectionis,  the  bond  of  perfec- 
tion. Faith  is  not  so  termed  ;  thy  faith  only  ties  thyself  to 
God,  but  love  binds  up  all  in  one  bundle  of  peace.  It  is 
impletio  legis,  the  fulfilhng  of  the  law  ;  where  hath  Faith 
such  a  title  ?  St  Ambrose,  on  the  funeral  of  Theodosius, 
observes,  that  he  died  with  these  words  in  his  mouth,  Dilexi, 
Dilexi,  which  he  conceived  to  be  his  answer  to  the  angels 
asking  Viim  how  he  had  behaved  himself  in  his  empire  ;  / 
have  loved,  I  have  loved;  that  was  enough. 

5.  Charity  is  more  noble  ;  for  it  is  a  better  thing  to  give 
than  to  receive.  Faith  and  Hope  are  all  of  the  taking  hand, 
but  Charity  gives.  K  Faith  gives  glory  to  God,  yet  this  is 
but  his  own  ;  an  acknowledgment  of  that  to  be  his  which 
is  his.  The  property  of  faith  is  to  receive  into  itself ;  the  pro- 
perty of  love  to  lay  out  itself  to  others. 

6.  For  manifestation  ;  Faith  and  Hope  are  things  unseen, 
and  may  be  dissembled ;  but  Charity  cannot  be  without 
visible  fruits ;  therefore  the  only  trial  of  faith  and  hope  is  by 
charity. 

B 


18 


THE  rHREE  Dn'INE  SISTERS. 


Thus  Charity  is  greatest,  if  not  respectu  originis,  or  for 
causality,  yet  for  dignity.  1.  More  honourable,  because 
like  God.  2.  More  noble,  because  more  beneficial  to  man. 
3.  More  communicable,  for  Faith  respects  thyself.  Charity 
all.  4.  More  durable,  when  Faith  is  swallowed  up  in  vision. 
Hope  in  possession,  then  love  remains.  5.  For  titles.  6. 
For  manifestation. 

Thus  you  have  commended  to  your  souls  these  three 
sbters,  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity.  Faith  we  must  have,  or 
we  are  reprobates ;  Hope,  or  wretches ;  Charity,  or  not 
Christians.  There  is  a  promise  made  to  Faith,  that  it  shall 
have  access  to  God,  Heb.  xi.  6.  To  -Hope,  that  it  shall  not 
be  ashamed,  Rom.  v.  5.  But  to  Charity,  that  it  shall  dwell 
in  God,  and  have  God  dwelling  in  it,  1  John  iv.  16. 

I  should  now  tell  you,  that  as  these  three  fair  sisters 
came  down  from  heaven  ;  so  in  a  cross  contrariety,  the  deril 
sends  up  three  foul  fiends  from  hell.  Against  Faith,  infidel- 
ity ;  against  Hope,  desperation  ;  against  Charity,  malice.  He 
that  entertains  the  elder  sister,  Unbelief,  I  quake  to  speak 
his  doom,  yet  I  must ;  "  he  is  already  condemned,"  John  iii. 
18.  He  that  embraceth  the  second  uglj'  hag.  Despair, 
bars  up  against  himself  the  possibility  of  all  comfort,  be- 
cause he  offends  so  precious  a  nature,  the  mercy  of  God, 
and  tramples  under  his  desperate  feet  that  blood  which  is 
held  out  to  his  unaccepting  hand.  He  that  welcomes  Malice, 
welcomes  the  devil  himself ;  he  is  called  the  envious,  and 
loves  extremely  to  lodge  himself  in  an  envious  heart.  These 
be  fearful,  prodigious  sisters  ;  fly  them  and  their  embraces  ; 
and  remember,  O  ye  whom  Christ  loves,  the  command- 
ment of  your  Saviour,  "  Love  one  another  !" 

I  will  end  with  our  apostle's  exhortation  to  his  Phihppians. 
If  there  he  any  consolation  in  Christ,  and  there  is  consolation 
in  him  when  the  whole  world  cannot  afford  it ;  if  any  coi.i- 
fort  of  love,  and  he  that  knows  not  the  comforts  of  love 
knows  no  difference  betwixt  man  and  beast ;  if  any  fellow- 
ship of  the  Spirit,  by  whom  we  are  all  knit  into  one  com- 
munion, and  enriched  with  the  same  treasures  of  grace  ;  if 
any  bowels  and  mercy ;  if  imcharitableness  and  avarice  have 


THE  THREE  DIVINE  SISTERS. 


19 


turned  our  entrails  into  stone  and  iron  ;  if  we  have  not  for- 
gotten the  use  and  need  of  mercy  (  fulfil  my  joy,  that  ye  he 
likeminded,  and  have  the  same  love,  Phil,  ii.  1,  2.  Fulfil  the 
apostle's  joy  only  ?  No,  the  joy  of  the  Bride  and  Bridegroom 
of  the  church  on  earth,  of  the  saints  in  heaven  ;  the  joy  of 
the  blessed  angels  ;  thejoy  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit ; 
and  last  of  all,  the  joy  of  your  own  hearts,  that  you  "  Love 
one  another."    Forget  not  that  trite  but  true  saying, 

They  shall  not  want  prosperity, 
Tliat  keep  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity. 


THE  LEAVEN; 

OB, 

A  DIRECTION  TO  HEAVEN. 


Another  parable  spake  he  unto  them ;  The  kingdom  of  heaven  Is  like  nnto  leaTen^ 
which  a  noman  took,  and  bid  In  three  measures  of  meal,  till  the  whole  wai 
lcavened.-a/«ii.  xUl.  33. 


THE  LEAVEN; 


A  DIRECTION  TO  HEAVEN. 


Another  parable  spake  he  unto  them ;  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  leareni 
which  a  woman  took,  and  hid  in  three  measures  of  meal,  till  the  whole  was 
leavened.— Jfait.  liii.  33. 

The  word  of  God  is  pure  (or  perfect),  saith  the  Psalmist, 
"  converting  the  soul,"  Psalm  xix.  7  ;  pure  fonnally  in  it- 
self, pure  effectively  in  pm-ifying  others.  "  Now  are  ye 
clean  through  the  word  which  I  have  spoken  unto  you," 
John  XV.  3.  There  is  life  in  it,  being  the  voice  of  life  itself. 
"Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go?  thou  hast  the  words  of 
eternal  life,"  John  vi.  68. 

As  God,  "  who  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners 
spake  in  time  past  unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath 
in  these  last  days  spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son,"  Heb.  i.  1  ; 
so  also  this  Son  (whom  he  hath  appointed  heir  of  all  things, 
by  whom  also  he  made  the  worlds,  when  he  took  flesh  and 
went  about  on  earth  doing  good),  taught  the  people  after 
divers  fashions  and  forms  of  speech,  though  in  all  of  them 
he  carried  a  state  in  his  words,  and  taught  with  authority, 
imlike  to  the  verbal  sermons  of  the  Scribes.  "  He  was  a 
prophet,  mighty  in  deed  and  word  before  God  and  all  the 
people,"  Luke  xxiv.  19.  Sometimes  he  taught  by  explica- 
tion, sometimes  by  application ;  sometimes  propounding,  at 
other  4,imes  expounding  his  doctrine.  Often  by  plain  prin- 
ciples and  affirmative  conclusions  ;  not  seldom  by  parables 
and  dai-k  sentences :  in  all  seeking  his  Father's  glory,  his 


24 


TlIK  LKAVEX  ;  OR, 


Church's  salvation.  la  this  chapter,  plentifully  by  parables. 
Divines  give  many  reasons  why  Christ  used  this  parabolical 
form  of  speaking. 

1.  The  fulfilment  of  Scriptures,  which  had  so  predicted 
of  liim.  "  I  will  open  my  mouth  in  a  parable,  I  will  utter 
dark  sayings  of  old,"  Psal.  Ixxviii.  2. 

2.  That  the  mysteries  of  God's  kingdom  might  not  be  re- 
vealed to  the  scornful.  To  such  it  shall  be  spoken  in  pa- 
rables, that  "  seeing  they  might  not  see,  and  hearing  they 
might  not  understand,"  Luke  viii.  10.  They  are  riddles  to 
the  Cains,  and  paradoxes  to  the  Judases  of  the  world.  But 
"  if  our  Gospel  be  hid,  it  is  hid  to  them  that  are  lost,"  2 
Cor.  iv.  3.  These  come  to  church  as  truants  to  school,  not 
caring  how  little  learning  they  get  for  their  money  ;  but  only 
regarding  to  avoid  the  temporal  punishment.  But  at  the 
great  correction-day,  when  the  schoolmaster  of  heaven  shall 
give  them  a  strict  examination,  their  reward  must  be  abun- 
dantly painful. 

3.  That  Christ  might  descend  to  the  capacities  of  the 
most  simple,  who  better  understand  a  spiritual  doctrine  by 
the  real  subjection  of  something  famiUar  to  their  senses.  As 
the  poet  says  : 

Segnius  irritant  animos  demissa  per  aures, 
Qiiam  quae  sunt  oculis  subjecta  fidelibus: 

Those  things  less  affect  the  mind  which  are  heard  by  the 
ear,  than  those  which  are  exposed  to  faithful  eyes. 

But  the  "  testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure,  making  wise  the 
simple,"  Psal.  xix.  7.  lie  said  once  to  poor  fishers,  "  To 
you  it  is  given  to  know  tlie  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of 
God,"  Luke  \Tii.  10.  He  says,  not  the  mysteries  of  the 
king,  but  the  mysteries  of  his  Itingdora.  The  former  may 
not  be  known,  the  other  may,  must  be  known. 

And  it  is  also  observable,  that  his  pai-ables  were  divers,  when 
yet  by  those  sundry  shadows  he  did  aim  directly  at  one  hght. 
He  doth,  as  it  were,  draw  the  curtain  of  heaven,  and  describe 
the  kin^om  of  God  by  many  resemblances  ;  yea,  and  some 
of  these  iinum  sonantia ;  like  so  many  instruments  of  music 
playing  one  tune.  In  that  immediately  preceding  parable 
of  the  mustard-seed,  and  this  subsequent  of  the  leaven,  lie 


A  DIRECTION  TO  HEAVKX. 


25 


teacheth  the  same  doctrine,  the  spreading;  virtue  of  the  Gos- 
pel. The  intention  of  which  course  in  our  great  Physician 
is  to  give  several  medicines  for  the  same  malady  in  several 
men,  fitting  his  receipts  to  the  disposition  of  his  patients. 
The  soldier  doth  not  so  well  understand  similitudes  taken 
from  husbandry,  nor  the  husbandman  from  the  war.  The 
lawyer  conceives  not  an  allusion  from  ])hysic,  nor  the  physi- 
cian from  the  law.  Furniscs  dumcstica  nee  nurimt,  nec  curant : 
ncqne  forensia  domesticam  ayentes  vitam.  (Ilome-dwellers  are 
ignorant  of  foreign  matters  ;  neither  doth  the  quiet  rural 
labourer  trouble  his  head  with  matters  of  state.)  Therefore 
Christ  derives  a  parable  from  an  army,  to  teach  soldiers  ; 
from  legal  principles,  to  instruct  lawj  ers  ;  from  the  field  and 
sowing,  to  speak  familiarly  to  the  husbandman's  capacity. 
As  that  parable  of  the  seed,  the  first  in  this  chapter,  may 
be  fitly  termed  the  ploughman's  gospel ;  as  Ferus  saith,  that, 
when  he  ploughs  his  ground,  he  may  have  a  sermon  ever 
before  him.  Every  furrow  being  a  line,  and  every  grain  of 
com  a  lesson,  bi-inging  forth  fruit.  So  Paul  borrows  a  com- 
parison from  wrestUng,  and  from  running  in  a  race ;  and 
our  Saviour  from  a  domestical  business  (muliebriimi  officiurn), 
from  leaven,  "  which  a  woman  took,"  &c. 

We  may  reduce  the  parable  to  three  general  heads,  Quid, 
ad  Quid,  in  Quo.  (1.  What  is  compared;  2.  To  what; 
3.  In  what.)  Two  natures  are  accorded  in  quodam  tertio: 
two  subjects  shake  hands  by  a  reconciling  similitude.  (1.) 
The  matter  compared  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  (2.)  The 
matter  to  which  it  is  compared  is  leaven  ;  (3.)  Now  the 
concun-ence  of  these  lies  in  the  sequel,  "  which  a  woman 
took,  and  hid  in  three  measures  of  meal,  till  the  whole  was 
leavened."  Wherein  are  remarkable,  the  agent,  the  action, 
the  subject,  the  continuance.  1.  The  agent  is  a  woman  ; 
2.  The  action  is  double,  taking  and  hiding,  or  putting  m 
the  leaven;  3.  The  subject  is  meal,  or  flour;  4.  The  conti- 
nuance, donee  fermentetur  totum  (until  the  whole  mass  be  lea- 
vened.) This  is  the  in  Quo,  the  manner  of  the  concurrence. 
The  general  points  then  are,  what,  whereto,  wherein.  We 
are.  according  to  this  method,  to  begin  with  the 

^Vfiat. — The  subject  compared  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 


26  THE  LEAVEN  ;  OR, 

This  hath  a  diverse  sense  and  apprehension  in  the  Scriptures. 
Specially  it  is  taken  three  ways : 

1.  For  the  kingdom  of  heaven  in  heaven,  which  the 
godly  shall  possess  hereafter.  The  scope  or  main  mark  we 
level  at.  That  high  pjTamid  which  the  top  of  Jacob's 
ladder  reached  to,  and  leaneth  on.  That  which  St  Peter 
calls  "  the  end  of  our  faith,  even  the  salvation  of  our  souls," 
1  Pet.  i.  9.  Whereof  David  sings,  "In  thy  presence  is 
fulness  of  joy,  at  thy  right  hand  are  pleasures  for  evermore," 
Psal.  xvi.  11.  Which  no  virtue  of  mortal  eye,  ear,  or 
heart  can  comprehend.  "  The)'  shall  come  from  east,  from 
west,  from  north,  and  south,  and  shall  sit  down  in  the  king- 
dom of  God,"  Luke  xiii.  29.  Unto  which  our  king  that 
owns  it,  and  Saviour  that  bought  it  for  us,  shall  one  day  in- 
vite us,  if  he  find  us  marked  for  his  sheep.  "  Come  ye 
blessed  of  my  father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world,"  Matt.  xxv.  34.  Dear 
Jesus,  bring  us  to  this  kingdom. 

2.  For  that  which  qualifies  and  prepares  us  to  the  for- 
mer, grace  and  holiness.  For  into  that  "  shall  enter  no 
unclean  thing,  nor  whatsoever  worketh  abomination,  or 
maketh  a  lie,  but  they  which  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  book 
of  life,"  Rev.  xxi.  27.  No  flesh  that  is  putrified,  except 
it  be  first  purified,  shall  be  glorified.  No  man  goes  to 
heaven  as  by  a  leap,  but  by  climbmg.  Now  this  sanctity  is 
called  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  1 .  Because  the  life  it  lives  is 
heavenly.  Though  we  are  on  earth,  our  conversation  is  in 
heaven,  Phil.  iii.  20  ;  2.  Because  the  joy  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  peace  of  conscience,  which  is  heaven  upon  earth,  is  in- 
separable from  it.  "  The  kingdom  of  heaven  consists  not 
in  meats  and  drinks,  but  in  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy 
in  the  Holy  Ghost,"  Rom.  xiv.  17. 

3.  For  that  whereby  we  are  prepared  for  both  the  for- 
mer :  this  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven  here  meant ;  and  to  de- 
clare it  in  a  word,  it  is  the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  This, 
by  the  powerful  co-operation  of  God's  Spirit,  begets  grace 
in  this  life,  and  grace  in  this  life  shall  be  crowned  with  glory 
in  the  life  to  come.  The  word  of  God  (which  is  called  the 
testimony,  Isa.  viii.  20,  because  it  bears  witness  to  itself), 


A  DIRECTION  TO  HEAVEN. 


27 


examined  and  coispared  in  like  places,  calls  the  preachbg 
of  the  gospel,  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  Luke  x.  11.  "  The 
kingdom  of  God  shall  be  taken  from  you,  and  given  to  a 
nation  bringing  fruits  thereof,"  Matt.  xxi.  43.  The  chil- 
dren of  God  live  in  this  first  kingdom  ;  the  second  lives  in 
them  ;  the  thii-d,  -which  is  above,  doth  perfect  both  the  for- 
mer. In  this  kingdom  we  might  observe,  1.  Who  is  king? 
2.  Who  are  subjects  ?  3.  What  are  the  laws  -whereby  the 
one  governs,  the  others  are  governed. 

1.  God  is  king  in  two  respects  :  Potentially,  in  regard  of 
his  Majesty  ;  presentially,  in  regard  of  his  mercy.  Poten- 
tially he  is  king  over  all  the  world,  governing  all  things, 
actions,  events,  at  the  ends  of  the  earth,  in  hell,  in  the  court 
of  conscience.  God  is  king,  be  the  earth  never  so  unquiet, 
saith  the  Psalmist.  He  can  still  the  raging  of  the  sea,  the 
roaring  of  the  waves,  and  the  madness  of  the  people.  Thus 
he  reigns  over  Satan,  and  all  his  factors  on  earth,  execu- 
tioners in  hell.  lie  cannot  touch  a  swine  without  his  hcensc, 
nor  cross  a  sea  without  his  passport.  lie  hath  a  hook  for 
Senacherib,  a  bridle  for  the  horses  and  mules,  a  chain  for 
that  great  le-viatlian,  a  tether  for  the  devil.  The  Lamb  of 
God  leads  that  great  roaring  lion  in  a  chain  :  and  with  the 
least  twitch  of  his  finger,  gives  him  a  non  ultra  (no  fur- 
ther.) All  powers  are  inferior  to,  and  derived  from  this 
power  ;  to  which  they  have  recourse  again,  as  rivers  run 
to  the  ocean,  whence  they  were  deduced.  Let  all  po- 
tentates "  cast  do-wn  their  crowns  before  his  feet  with  the 
twenty-four  elders,"  Rev.  iv.  10.  All  powers  are  sub- 
ject to  that  power  which  is  infinite.  Dominion  riseth  by 
degrees :  there  be  great,  saith  Solomon,  and  yet  greater 
than  they ;  and  yet  again  higher  than  they  aU  (Eccles 
V.  8.)  Begin  at  home  :  In  man  there  is  a  kingdom 
The  mind  hath  a  sovereignty  over  the  body.  Restrain 
It  to  the  soul,  and  in  the  soul's  kingdom.  Reason  hath 
a  dominion  over  the  afiections.  This  kingdom  is  within 
man.  Look  without  him  ;  behold,  God  hath  given  him 
a  kingdom  over  reasonless  creatures.  Yet  among  them- 
selves, God  hath  set  man  over  man ;  the  householder  is  a 
petty  king  in  his  family,  the  magistrate  over  the  commu- 


28  THE  LEAVEN  ;  OR, 

nity,  the  king  over  all.  The  heavenly  bodies  have  yet  a 
power  over  us  ;  God  is  king  over  them,  and  all.  God  is 
then  only  and  solely  king. 

But  he  reigns  in  this  place  rather  presentially  by  his 
grace ;  where  his  sceptre  is  a  sceptre  of  righteousness,  and 
his  throne  man's  heart.  For  that  is  so  excellent  a  place, 
that  it  is  evermore  taken  up  for  a  throne,  either  by  God  or 
Satan.  To  the  godly  then  is  this  great  king  most  propense ; 
though  others  also  taste  the  sweets  of  his  bounty.  As  the 
earthly  prince  governs,  and  providently  sustams  all  the 
people  of  his  dominions  ;  but  those  that  stand  in  his  court, 
and  feast  at  his  table,  more  especially  partake  of  his  royal 
favours.  God  at  his  own  cost  maintains  all  the  world,  and 
hath  done  almost  these  6000  years  ;  but  he  loveth  Jerusa- 
lem above  all  cities,  and  the  gates  of  Zion  above  all  the 
dwellings  of  Jacob.  All  Joseph's  brethren  shall  be  feasted  at 
bis  charges,  but  Benjamin's  mess  shall  five  times  exceedthe  rest. 
There  may  be  one  favour  left  for  Esau,  but  Jacob  goes  away 
vrith  the  blessing.  God  is  still  good  to  all  Israel ;  let  him 
be  best  to  them  that  are  of  a  pure  heart,  Psal.  Ixxiii.  1. 

2.  The  subjects  in  this  kingdom  are  the  godly;  not 
such  as  give  a  passive  and  involuntary  obedience,  doing 
God's  will  (as  the  devil  doth)  contra  scientiam,  contra  cm>- 
scientiam  (against  knowledge  and  conscience),  of  whom  more 
properly  we  may  say,  Proposita  (lei  Jiunt  potiiis  de  illis 
quam  ab  illis:  (The  purposes  of  God  are  rather  executed 
in  them  than  by  them.)  These,  though  they  work  the 
secret  decrees  oi  the  great  king,  are  not  of  this  king- 
dom. Only  they  that  give  to  him  the  sacrifice  of  a  free- 
AviU  offering,  that  willingly  and  sincerely  subscribe  and  as- 
sent obedience  to  his  behests.  "\Miose  lives,  as  well  as 
lips,  pray  that  article.  Thy  icill  he  done.  They  are  in- 
deed subjects  to  this  king,  that  are  themselves  kings ;  Christ 
hath  made  us  kings  and  priests,  Kev.  i.  6.  Every  king  on 
earth  is  as  it  were  a  little  god,  John  x.  34.  Only  our  God  is 
the  great  king,  able  to  bind  kings  in  chai/is,  and  nobles  with 
fetters  of  iron,  Psal.  cxlix.  8.  In  respect  both  of  his  power 
reigning  over  all,  and  of  his  mercy  over  his  chosen,  he  may 
ell  be  called  King  of  kings  ;  the  great  king  over  both  tern- 


A  DinECTION  TO  HEAVEN. 


29 


poral  and  spiritual  kings :  lie  is  the  ffing  of  king*  For 
all  his  faithful  children  are  mystically  and  spiritually  made, 
and  called  kings  in  Christ,  and  the  Lord  is  king  of  all. 

3.  The  laws  whereby  this  kingdom  is  governed  are  the 
statute  laws  of  heaven,  Psal.  cxlvii.  19,  wi-itten  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  by  prophets  and  apostles,  sealed  by  the  blood  of 
God's  Son  ;  a  light  to  our  darkness,  a  rule  for  our  actions. 

Upon  this  ground  thus  laid,  I  build  a  double  structure  or 
instruction. 

1.  Christ  hath  a  kingdom  also  in  this  world  ;  not  of  this 
world  ;  himself  denies  it  to  Pilate,  John  xviii.  36.  He  would 
none  of  their  hasty  coronation  with  carnal  hands.  Yet  he 
was  and  is  a  spii-itual  king.  So  was  it  prophesied,  Dan. 
vii.  14  ;  Micah  iv.  7.  So  the  angel  told  Mary,  Luke  i.  32, 
33,  "  He  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  for  ever,  and 
of  his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end."  So  Pilate  wi-ote  his 
inscription,  though  in  the  narrowest  limits,  Jesus  of  Na- 
zareth, king  of  the  Jews.  To  expect  or  respect  the  Messias 
for  a  temporal  prince,  was  the  Jews'  perpetual  dottage, 
the  apostles'  transient  error.  Matt.  xx.  21  ;  Acts  i.  G, 
"Lord  wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  the  kingdom  to  IsraelV" 
But  Christ  is  a  king  after  a  spiritual  manner  on  earth ; 
restraining  the  violence  of  the  wolves  and  goats  like  a  good 
shepherd ;  not  sulTering  them  to  annoy  and  infest  the  lambs 
at  their  pleasure,  or  rather  displeasure  ;  ruling  his  chosen, 
overruling  the  reprobates,  as  the  great  master  over  the 
whole  family  of  this  world.  His  throne  is  at  the  right  hand 
of  his  Father  in  heaven  ;  but  his  dominion  is  throughout  all 
ages,  and  extends  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  AVe  should 
not  pass  this  without  some  useful  application. 

1 .  If  there  be  a  kingdom  of  heaven  here  to  be  had,  why 
do  we  not  seek  it  ?  Tlie  charge  is  not  less  for  our  good 
than  God's  glory,  which  Christ  gives  ;  "  First  seek  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  and  the  righteousness  thereof,  and  then  all 
these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you,"  Matt.  vi.  33.  Seek  it  in 
faith,  with  prayers,  with  tears,  with  reformation.  Seek  it  first ; 
let  no  worldly  thing  stand  in  your  thoughts  worthy  of  prefer- 
ment to  it.  Seek  it  with  disregard  and  an  holy  contempt  ol 
other  things :  for  this  once  come,  they  shall  be  cast  upon  you. 


30  THE  LEAVEN  :  OR, 

2.  Since  Christ  hath  a  kingdom  here,  let  us  rejoice. 
"  The  Lord  reigneth,  let  the  e.orth  rejoice :  let  the  multi- 
tude of  isles  be  glad  thereof,"  Psal.  xcvii.  1 .  And  among 
those  lands,  let  the  joy  of  England  be  none  of  the  least. 
What  was  foretold  by  Zeehariah  (ix.  9),  is  fulfilled  by  our 
Saviour,  Matt.  xxi.  5.  "  Rejoice,  shout  out  for  joy,  for 
thy  King  cometh."  Let  his  exaltation  be  thy  exultation. 
If  he  were  impotent  and  could  not  help,  impro-ident  and 
would  not,  we  were  never  the  better  for  our  King.  But 
his  power  is  immense,  his  mercy  infinite  :  He  that  keepeth 
Israel,  doth  neither  slumber  nor  sleep,  Ps.  cxxi.  4. 

3.  This  is  terror  to  the  wicked  ;  they  serve  a  king,  but  he  is 
not  an  absolute  king  ;  his  head  is  under  Christ's  girdle,  nay, 
under  his  feet,  Matt.  iv.  There  is  in  Satan,  nec  voluntas,  nee 
validitas  (neither  might  nor  mind),  to  succour  his  subjects, 
his  abjects.  Prodigal  Lucifer  (the  father  of  prodigious 
Machiavels,  that  are  bountiful  with  what  is  none  of  their 
own,  dealing  states  and  kingdoms,  like  the  pope,  as  God's 
legacies,  when  God  never  made  him  executor)  makes  Christ 
a  bountiful  offer  of  kingdoms.  Poor  beggar,  he  had  none 
of  his  own,  not  so  much  as  a  hole  out  of  hell ;  whereas 
Christ  was  Lord  of  all.  Disproportionable  proffer !  he 
would  give  the  king  of  heaven  a  kingdom  of  earth  ;  the 
glory  of  this  lower  world  to  him  that  is  the  glory  of  the 
higher  world,  and  requires  for  price  to  have  him  worship  an 
angel  of  darkness,  who  is  worshipped  of  the  angels  of  light. 
Tremble  ye  wicked !  you  serve  an  ill  master,  are  subjects 
to  a  cursed  king.  AVell  were  it  for  you  if  j-ou  might  escape 
his  wages  ;  well  for  himself  if  he  might  escape  his  own. 
Both  he  and  his  subjects  shall  perish.  "  The  prince  of  this 
world  is  already  judged,"  John  x^^.  11. 

4.  Since  there  be  two  spiritual  kingdoms  on  earth,  and 
we  must  Uve  under  one  of  them,  let  us  wisely  choose  the 
easiest,  the  securest,  the.  happiest.  For  ease.  Satan's  ser- 
wces  are  unmerciful  drudgerj- ;  no  pains  must  be  refused 
to  get  hell.  "  Chi-ist's  yoke  is  easy,  his  burden  is  hght." 
For  security,  we  say  in  terrene  differences,  it  is  safest  tak- 
ing the  stronger  side.    Why  then  should  we  forsake  the 


A  DIRECTION  TO  HEAVEX.  31 

Strongest  man,  who  commands  the  -world,  and  revolt  to 
the  tents  of  Belial,  the  son  of  vanity?  For  happiness, 
Christ's  kingdom  is  the  far  more  blessed :  for  countenance, 
for  continuance  in  the  heart,  solacing  sunshine  of  his  mercy, 
and  the  unclouded  eternity  of  it. 

2.  Our  second  inference  is  this.  Such  is  the  excellency 
of  the  gospel,  that  it  is  dignified  by  the  title  of  a  kingdom, 
and  that  of  heaven.  Earthly  things  cannot  boast  this  pri- 
%'ilege  to  have  that  ascribed  to  the  means  which  belongs  to 
the  end.  Bread  is  not  health,  but  the  sustenance  of  it. 
Reading  is  not  learning,  but  the  way  to  get  it.  In  divine 
graces  the  way  is  often  honoured  with  the  title  of  the  end. 
Faith  is  called  life ;  grace,  salvation ;  the  gospel,  the  kiiig- 
dom.  Such  is  the  infallibility  of  God's  decrees,  and  the  in- 
separable effects  that  follow  his  heavenly  intentions  ;  that  the 
means  shall  easily  perform  the  office  they  were  sent  to  do. 
The  preaching  of  the  gospel  shall  save  those  whom  God 
hath  determined  to  save  by  it,  and  shall  as  assuredly  bring 
them  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven  as  if  itself  were  that  king- 
dom.   Here  then  is  matter, 

1st,  Of  instruction  :  that  God  hath  so  decreed  it  that 
■we  must  ordinarily  pass  through  one  kingdom  into  another, 
into  a  greater.  From  the  gospel  of  life  we  shall  go  to  the 
God  of  life.  From  the  preaching  of  the  word  to  that  the 
word  hath  preached — the  "  end  of  our  faith,  the  salvation 
of  our  souls."  For  we  climb  to  heaven  by  Paul's  stairs, 
Rom.  X.  9,  10,  (and  without  that  manner  of  ascending  few 
come  thither)  ;  from  preaching  to  believing,  from  believ- 
ing to  obeying ;  and  obeying  precedes  our  eternal  hfe. 
Such  a  man  shall  only  hear  that  comfortable  address ; 
"  Good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  into  thy  master's  joy." 

2d,  Of  comfort :  that  seeing  we  have  the  gospel,  we 
have  the  kingdom  of  heaven  amongst  us.  They  see  not 
this  marvellous  hght  that  live  in  their  own  natural  dark- 
ness ;  no,  nor  do  all  see  this  kingdom  that  live  in  it,  but 
they  alone  in  whom  this  kingdom  lives.  "  Our  gospel  is 
hid  to  those  that  are  lost,"  2  Cor.  iv.  3.  It  is  an  offence 
to  the  Gentiles,  contempt  of  the  Jews,  riddles  to  the  Athe- 


32  THK  LEAVES  ;  OK, 

nian  stoics,  a  paradox  to  Julian,  Acts  xvii.  18. ;  but  to 
"  them  that  are  called,  both  Jews'  and  Greeks,  the  power 
of  God,  and  the  -wisdom  of  God,"  1  Cor.  i.  24.  Open  your 
scornful  eyes,  lift  up  your  neglected  heads,  ye  abortive  ge- 
neration of  lust  and  sin,  the  sun  shines  in  your  faces.  .Sha- 
dow not  your  eyes  with  carnal  security  ;  remove  those  thick 
clouds  of  ignorance  and  contempt  interjiosed  betwixt  you 
and  this  light.  See,  see,  and  glorify  our  God  ;  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  among  you.  Come  out  of  your  holes, 
ye  Roman  dormice ;  pray  for  spiritual  unction,  ye  sotted 
worldlings,  that  the  scales  of  ignorance  may  fall  from  you. 
Waken  your  heavy  spirits,  ye  mopish  naturals ;  live  no 
longer  in  the  region  of  darkness  and  t}Tanny  of  sin,  and 
bless  his  name  that  hath  called  you  to  his  kingdom.  You 
need  not  travel  a  tedious  pilgrimage,  leaning  on  the  staff  of 
a  carnal  devotion,  as  the  papists  are  forced,  nor  trudge  from 
east  to  west  to  seek  this  kingdom,  as  the  Jews  were  me- 
naced, nor  cry  it  is  too  far  to  go  to  Jerusalem,  and  there- 
fore fall  to  worship  your  calves,  }  Our  little  gods  at  home, 
as  Jeroboam  pretended.  But  to  take  away  all  excuse,  and 
leave  your  obstinacy  naked  to  the  judgment-seat  of  God, 
behold  you  need  but  step  over  your  thresholds,  and  gatlier 
manna ;  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  among  you. 

3d,  Of  reproof:  cease  your  despising  of  the  gospel,  ye 
profane  witlings,  whose  sport  is  to  make  yourselves  merry 
with  God.  You  cannot  stick  the  least  spot  of  contempt  on 
the  cheek  of  preaching  but  it  lights  on  heaven  itself,  where 
you  will  one  day  desire  to  be.  AVhile  you  would  shoot 
arrows  against  the  invulnerable  breast  of  God,  they  shall 
recoil  with  vengeance  on  your  own  heads.  You  little  think 
that  your  scurrilous  jests  on  the  word,  and  the  messengers 
thereof,  strike  at  the  side  of  Christ  with  the  offer  of  new 
wounds.  You  dream  not  that  }-ou  flout  the  kingdom  of 
hearen  itself,  which,  when  }ou  have  lost,  you  will  pi-ize 
dearer  than  the  West  Indies  doth  her  gold  or  the  East  her 
spices.  If  you  knew  what  this  kingdom  was,  you  would 
weigh  out  your  blood  by  ounces,  like  gold  in  the  balance, 
till  your  heai-ts  had  not  a  drop  left  to  cherish  them  for  the 


A  DIRECTION  TO  HEAVEN. 


33 


purchase  of  it.  Behold,  you  may  have  it  for  less.  Why 
do  you  despise  it  ?  Perhaps  you  make  full  account  of  this 
kingdom,  though  you  allow  yourselves  in  your  vanities. 
What,  will  you  scorn  it,  and  yet  be  glad  of  it  ?  How  un- 
equal are  these  thoughts !  How  impossible  these  hopes ! 
God  will  not  give  his  pearls  to  swine ;  shall  they  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  that  despise  it?  This  is  the  what;  now 
follows  the  To  What. 

The  thing  whereby  this  mystical  nature  is  shadowed  out 
to  us  is  leaven.  In  tliis  we  must  confine  ourselves  to  the 
scope  of  the  parable ;  and  as  we  would  not  look  short,  so 
we  will  not  look  beyond.  Sobriety  must  guide  our  course 
in  everj-  sermon  ;  then  especially,  when  our  navigation  Ues 
through  the  depth  of  a  parable.  We  find  leaven  elsewhere 
used  in  the  worst  sense,  (^latt.  xvi.  6  ;  1  Cor.  v.  6— 8."* 
And  before  we  step  any  further,  this  point  presents  itsell 
to  our  observation. 

The  same  things  are  often  taken  in  diflTerent  senses; 
sometimes  oblique,  not  seldom  opposite.  Christ  in  another 
place  premonisheth  his  apostles  against  the  leaven  of  the 
Pharisees,  Sadducees,  and  Herodians  ;  the  leaven  of  hypo- 
crisy, of  irreligion,  of  savage  policies.  And  the  chosen  ves- 
sel bids  us,  "  purge  out  the  old  leaven,"  &c.,  1  Cor.  v.  7. 
Here  it  is  used  as  graciously  as  there  grievously  ;  and  no 
meaner  thing  is  likened  to  it  than  the  kingdom  of  heaver.. 
But  I  refer  this  note  to  a  place  where  I  have  more  liberally 
handled  it. 

The  intent,  force,  and  vigour  of  the  parable  consists  in 
the  propagation.  As  leaven  spreads  into  the  whole  liunp, 
so  the  gospel  regenerates  the  whole  man.  This  is  the  pith 
and  marrow  of  it ;  yet  what  other  resemblances  serve  to 
the  illustration  of  it,  are  considerable.  Therefore  two  re- 
mote and  improper  observations  in  the  leaven  shall  lead  us 
to  the  main,  which  is  the  dilation  of  that  and  the  gospel. 

1.  Leaven  hath  a  quality  somewhat  contrary  to  the  meal, 
yet  serves  to  make  it  fit  for  bread.  The  gospel  is  sour  and 
harsh  to  the  natural  soul,  yet  works  it  to  newness  of  life 
It  runs  against  the  grain  of  our  affections,  and  we  think  it 
troubles  the  peace  of  our  Israel  within  us.    Our  sins  are  as 

c 


34  THE  LEAVEN  ;  on, 

dear  to  us  as  our  ej-e,  hand,  or  foot  (Matt.  v.  29.),  neces- 
sary and  ill  spared  members.  The  gospel  that  would  divorce 
our  loves  so  wedded  to  our  iniquities  seems  dnrus  sermo,  a 
hard  sa}-iiig,  who  can  bear  it  ?  It  is  leaven  to  Herod  to 
part  with  his  Herodias ;  to  Naaman  to  be  bound  from  bow- 
ing before  Rimmon.  Christ  gives  the  young  man  a  sour 
morsel  when  he  bids  him  give  his  goods  to  the  poor.  Yet 
choke  the  usurer  with  leaven  when  you  tell  him  that  his  sins 
shall  not  be  forgiven  till  his  unjust  gains  be  restored.  You 
may  as  well  prescribe  the  epicure  leaven  instead  of  bread, 
as  set  him  the  voider  of  abstinence  instead  of  his  table  of 
surfeits.  This  is  leaven  indeed,  to  tell  the  incloser  that  he 
enters  commons  with  the  devil,  while  he  hinders  the  poor 
to  enter  common  with  him  ;  or  to  tell  the  sacrilegious  that 
Satan  hath  just  possession  of  his  soul,  while  he  keeps  unjust 
possession  of  the  church's  goods.  When  this  leaven  is  held 
to  carnal  lips  it  -will  not  go  down,  no,  the  verj'  smell  of  it 
offends.  The  combat  of  faith,  the  task  of  repentance,  the 
mercifulness  of  charity,  this  same  rule  of  three  is  hard  to 
learn.  To  deny  a  man's  self,  to  cashier  his  fanuliar  lusts, 
to  lay  down  whole  bags  of  crosses,  and  to  take  up  one,  the 
cross  of  Christ ;  to  forsake  our  money,  and  assume  poverty, 
persecution,  contempt  for  the  gospel.  Oh  sour,  sour  leaven, 
leaven !  No  such  thing  shall  come  into  the  vessel  of  our 
heart,  among  the  meal  of  our  affections ;  we  cannot  brook 
it.  But  this  must  come  and  be  made  welcome,  or  we  shall 
not  be  made  bread  for  God's  table.  It  is  said  of  the  leaven 
that  it  excites  the  lump  by  its  agreeable  acidity.  It  is  aci- 
dity, but  agreeable,  when  the  soul  is  once  sensible  of  the 
virtue.  God  is  fain  to  wrestle  with  our  corruptions,  and, 
like  a  loving  father,  to  follow  us  up  and  down  with  his  leaven ; 
we  tiu-n  our  backs  upon  him,  and  bid  him  keep  his  leaven  to 
himself,  as  Daniel  to  Belshazzar  ;  keep  thy  rewards  to  thyscif, 
and  give  thy  gifts  to  another,  Dan.  v.  17.  But  when  we  are 
once  weary  of  the  world's  husks,  and  begin  to  long  for  the 
bread  in  our  Father'' s  house,  Luke  xv.  17  ;  do  but  taste  and 
digest  this  leaven,  then  that  that  was  fel  in  ore  (gall  in  the 
mouth)^  proves  viel  in  corde  (honey  in  the  heart),  we  return 


A  DIRECTION  TO  HEAVEN. 


35 


again,  and  follow  him  for  it.  "  Lord,  evermore  give  us  this 
bread,"  John  vi.  34 ;  feed  us  with  this  leaven,  that  we  may  be 
bread  for  thine  own  table.  The  law  was  not  so  harsh  in 
mortifying  our  sins,  but  the  gospel  is  found  more  sweet  m 
saving  our  souls. 

2.  One  saith  of  the  leaven,  that  it  raiseth  the  lump  with  the 
heat,  as  the  housewife's  philosophy  gives  the  cause.  The 
meal  is  cold  of  itself,  and  unapt  to  congeal.  The  leaven  by 
heat  doth  it.  In  the  gospel  preached,  there  is  a  spreading 
heat.  It  is  not  only  fire  in  Jeremiah's  bones,  but  in  the 
disciples'  ears  and  hearts,  "  Did  not  our  hearts  bum  within 
us,"  Luke  xxiv.  32.  "  Is  not  my  word  as  fire?  saith  the 
Lord,"  Jer.  xxiii.  29.  In  the  minister's  soul  it  is  hke  fire 
shut  up  in  the  bones,  which  must  have  vent,  or  it  will  make 
him  weary  of  forbearing,  and  ring  a  woe  in  his  conscience 
if  he  preach  not  the  gospel.  It  hath  no  less  powerful  fer- 
vour in  the  Christian  heart,  and  inkindles  the  kindly  heat  of 
zeal,  which  no  floods  of  temptation  can  quench,  or  blasts 
of  persecution  blow  out.  This  it  is  that  thaws  the  fi-ozen 
conscience,  warms  the  benumbed  spirit,  and  heats  the  cold 
heart.  Men  are  naturally  cold  at  heart,  and  sin  runs  like  a 
chill  ague  through  the  general  blood.  The  covetous  proud 
hypocrite  hath  a  cold  stomach,  that  for  want  of  digestive 
heat  turns  all  good  nourishment  into  crudities.  Summon 
them  to  just  trial,  feel  their  pulses,  and  they  beat  coldly. 
If  the  minister  entreat  a  collection  for  some  distressed  Chris- 
tian, there  is  a  cramp  in  our  fingers  ;  we  cannot  untie  our 
purse-strings.  It  is  a  manifest  sign  that  we  are  not  leavened. 
So  long  as  the  meal  of  our  effects  continues  thus  cold,  we 
are  incapable  of  being  bread.  The  word  puts  fervour  into 
our  hearts,  and  leavens  us. 

The  spaaial  instance  of  this  resemblance  is,  that  the  leaven 
spreads  virtue  into  all  the  meal.  The  gospel  disperseth  sal- 
vation into  the  whole  man.  The  Word  of  God  is  powerful 
to  our  renovation,  speeding  and  spreading  grace  into  all 
parts  of  us.  It  works  us  to  perfection,  though  not  that 
gradual  perfection  (as  the  school  termeth  it)  which  is  above, 
yet  to  that  partial  perfection  which  Paul  prays  for  his 


36  Till!  LEAVEK  ;  OF, 

Thessalonians,  "  The  God  of  peace  sanctify  }  0u  wjiolly," 
1  Thes.  V.  23,  and  assumes  to  be  in  his  Philippians.  "  Let 
as  many  of  us  as  be  perfect,  be  thus  minded,"  Pliil.  iii.  15. 
For  though  justification  admits  no  latitude,  yet  .sanctification 
is  wrought  by  degrees.  And  a  Cliristian  goes  forward  into 
grace  as  into  those  waters  of  the  sanctuary  ;  first  to  the 
ankles,  then  to  the  knees,  and  so  higher  till  all  be  washed, 
as  the  leaven  spreads  till  all  be  leavened.  This  doctrine  will 
more  clearly  manifest  itself  in  the  subsequent  observations. 
Only  let  us  not  leave  it  without  a  double  use. 

1 .  Suffer  yourselves  to  be  leavened  ;  give  entertaiimient 
to  the  gospel  in  your  hearts.  Though  it  be  a  more  blessetl 
thing  to  give  than  to  take,  yet  it  is  a  less  chargeable  thing  to 
take  than  to  give.  It  is  God's  bounty  to  give  his  word  ; 
do  not  you  in  a  nice  suUenness  refuse  it.  "  Let  the  word 
dwell  in  you  richly,"  Col.  iii.  16.  Do  not  pinch  this  leaven 
for  room,  nor  thrust  it  into  a  narrow  comer  in  your  con- 
science, whilst  you  give  specious  receipt  to  lust,  and  sin,  and 
such  lewd  inmates.  But  let  it  soak  into  your  veins,  and 
dilate  itself  into  your  affections,  that  it  may  breed  good  blood 
in  your  hearts,  good  fruit  in  your  conversations. 

2.  So  judge  of  yourselves  as  you  find  this  leaven  spreading 
in  you.  If  }ou  should  hear  e^cry  day  a  sermon,  or  could 
read  every  hour  a  volume,  }  et  while  your  lives  are  barren, 
you  are  but  unleavened  bread  ;  so  unsavoury,  that  God  will 
not  admit  it  at  his  board.  lie  hath  an  -unleavened  hand, 
that  is  not  charitable  ;  an  unleavened  knee,  that  is  not 
humble  ;  an  unleavened  tongue,  that  blasphemes  ;  an  un- 
leavened eye,  that  maliceth  ;  an  unleavened  heart,  that  se- 
curely offendcth.  The  outward  working  shews  the  inward 
leavening,  and  the  diffusion  is  an  argument  of  the  being. 
It  cannot  be  pent  up  no  more  than  fire.  It  is  no  le.ss  ojje- 
rative  than  it  is  blessed.  You  have  heard  the  ii  hat,  and  to 
jchat ;  the  in  what,  huic,  or  the  concuiTcnce  of  these  follow 
in  many  particulars.  Here  is  tlie  acrent,  the  action,  the 
subject,  the  continuance.  The  agent  is  a  woman ,  by  whom 
is  shadowed  the  minister.  And  here  are  observable  three 
things. 


A  DIRECTION  TO  HEAVEN. 


37 


1.  The  agent  that  must  work  with  this  leaven  is  a  woman, 
weak  in  her  sex,  yet  the  leaven  works  never  the  less  for  her 
imbccihty.  The  minister  that  must  put  this  leaven  to  our 
souls  is  a  man,  a  weak,  sinful,  despised  man  ;  yet  doth  not 
his  weakness  derogate  from  the  powerful  operation  of  the 
Word  in  the  hearts  of  God's  chosen.  It  is  the  word  of  a 
mighty  and  majestical  God  ;  who  speaks,  and  the  mountains 
tremble  ;  threatens,  and  the  foundations  of  the  earth  are  mov- 
ed I  appeal  to  your  consciences,  who  have  a  testimony  (from 
them,  and  they  from  the  Spirit,  that  you  are  God's),  hath 
not  his  word,  spoken  by  a  silly  man,  made  your  hearts  bleed 
within  you  for  your  sins  ?  Yea,  hath  not  Felix  himself 
trembled  like  an  aspen  leaf  when  Paul,  even  his  prisoner, 
preached  ?  What  power  hath  stirred  you,  human  or  divine  ? 
Tertullus  could  not  do  it,  while  authority  and  credit  with 
men  seconded  his  eloquence.  Peter  taken  from  his  nets 
shall  catch  a  thousand,  and  a  thousand  souls  at  a  draught. 
What  presumptuous  folly  in  some  is  it  then  to  loathe  the 
Word  of  eternal  truth  because  such  a  man  speaks  it  ?  God 
must  not  only  give  them  meat,  but  such  a  cook  as  may  dress 
it  to  their  own  fancies.  Our  weakness  makes  way  for  God's 
brighter  glory.  "  That  your  faith  should  not  stand  in  the 
wisdom  of  man,  but  in  the  power  of  God,"  1  Cor.  ii.  5. 
Oftentimes  the  pillars  of  the  church  move  not  him  whom  a 
weak  leavener  hath  converted.  It  is  a  reason  convincing 
the  wicked,  confirming  the  faithful,  that  Paul  gives,  "  God 
hath  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the 
wise  ;  and  the  weak  things  to  confound  the  mighty,  that  no 
flesh  should  glorj'  in  his  presence,"  1  Cor.  i.  27,  &c. 

2.  The  leaven  doth  this  without  the  woman's  virtue,  not 
without  her  instrumental  help  ;  but  the  woman  in  no  re- 
spect without  the  leaven.    The  minister  cannot  leaven  his  own 


heart,  much  less  the  souls  of  others.  The  Word  doth  it  ; 
the  minister  is  but  the  instrument  to  apply  it.  The  physician 
heals  not  the  sore,  but  the  medicine.  The  hand  feeds  not 
the  body,  but  the  meat  it  reacheth  to  it.  Neither  in  dis- 
tinct terms  doth  faith  save,  but  only  apprehend  the  Lord 
Jesus,  in  whom  is  assured  salvation.    Indeed,  so  doth  God 


38 


THE  LEAVEN  ;  OB, 


dijfnify  our  ministerial  function,  that  the  priest  is  said  to 
make  the  heart  clean,  and  Timothy  to  save  souls,  by  attri- 
bution of  that  to  the  instrument  which  is  -wrought  by  the 
agent,  the  happy  concurrence  of  the  Spirit  and  the  Gospel, 
Acts.  iii.  12,  16. 

3.  A  woman  is  the  fittest  for  this  domestic  business.  Tlie 
minister  being  a  man,  is  aptest  in  God  s  choice  for  this  spi- 
ritual leavening.  Sdould  God  speak  iu  his  own  person,  his 
glory  would  swallow  us  up.  "  For  our  God  is  even  a  con- 
suming fire,"  Heb.  xii.  29.  Who  hath  seen  God  and  lives? 
Ask  mount  Sinai,  if  as  stout-hearted  men  as  we  can  be,  did 
not  run  away,  tremble  for  fear,  and  entreat  that  Moses 
might  speak  to  them  from  God,  not  God  himself  If  angels 
should  preach  to  us,  their  brightness  would  amaze  us,  and 
m  derogation  to  his  glorj'  (to  whom  alone  it  belongs,  and  he 
trill  not  give  it  to  another),  we  would  fall  down  to  worship 
them,  ready  to  give  them  the  honour  of  all  good  wrought 
on  us.  The  Word  should  not  be  said  to  save,  but  the 
angels.  If  one  should  rise  from  the  dead,  as  Dives  (having 
learned  some  charity  in  hell  that  had  none  on  earth)  wished, 
it  would  terrify  us.  Lo,  then,  by  men  of  our  own  flesh,  of 
the  same  animation  with  ourselves,  doth  Jehovah  speak  to 
us,  that  the  prabe  might  be  (not  man's,  but)  God's.  The 
agent  thus  considered,  let  us  look  to  the  action.  This  is 
double.    Taking  the  leaven,  putting  it  into  the  meal. 

1 .  The  woman  took  the  leaven  :  she  hath  it  ready  before 
she  useth  it.  We  must  firet  have  the  gospel  before  we  can 
leaven  your  souls  with  it.  We  must  not  be  vaporous  and 
imaginative  enthusiasts,  to  trust  all  on  the  belief  of  its  being 
given  at  the  proper  time  ;  but  with  much  study  and  pain- 
fulness  get  this  leaven,  and  apply  it.  AVhat  betters  it  to 
have  a  physician,  that  hath  no  medicine  ;  or  a  medicine, 
without  skill  to  apply  it?  Men  think  sermons  as  easy  as 
they  are  common.  You  that  never  prepare  yourselves  to 
hear,  think  so  of  us,  that  we  never  prepare  ourselves  to 
preach.  If  this  cheap  conceit  of  preaching  did  not  trans- 
port many,  they  would  never  covet  to  hear  more  in  a  day 
than  they  will  learn  in  a  year,  or  practice  all  their  lives. 


A  DIRECTION  TO  HEAVEN. 


39 


Alas,  how  shall  we  take  this  leaven  ?  The  skill  of  mingling 
It  is  fetched  from  the  schools  of  the  prophets  ;  from  medi- 
tation, from  books.  But  in  these  days,  disqiiietness  .lilows 
no  meditation  ;  penury,  no  books.  You  deprive  us  of  our 
means,  yet  expect  our  leavens  :  as  Pharaoh  required  of  the 
Israelites  their  number  of  bricks,  but  allowed  them  no 
straw. 

2.  We  must  (with  the  woman)  hide  our  leaven  in  the 
meal : — apply  it  to  your  consciences.  AVe  must  preach  in 
pain  of  death.  AVc  are  salt,  and  must  melt  away  ourselves 
to  season  you.  "W'e  are  nurses,  and  must  feed  our  children 
with  the  white  blood  of  our  labours,  strained  from  our  own 
hearts.  And  you  must  be  content  to  let  this  leaven  be 
hiVden  in  your  consciences.  The  word  must  not  be  laid  on 
superficially,  with  ii  perfunctory  negligence,  like  loose  corn 
on  the  floor  of  the  heart.  The  seed  that  lay  scattered  on 
the  highway  ;  the  fowls  of  the  air  picked  up,  and  prevented 
the  fructifying.  Matt.  xiii.  4.  This  leaven  must  be  hid  from 
the  eyes,  and  laid  up  out  of  the  reach  of  Satan,  lest  his  temp- 
tations, like  ravenous  vultures,  devour  it  up.  Mary  hid 
the  sayings  of  Christ  in  her  heart.  Thy  law,  O  Lord,  saith 
David,  is  within  my  heart.  If  this  leaven  have  not  taken 
the  conscience,  all  outward  reformation  is  but  Jehoiakim's 
rotten  wall,  painted  over  with  vermilion.  What  cares  a 
good  market-miin  how  fiiir  the  fleece  or  the  flesh  look,  if  the 
liver  be  specked  ?  It  is  the  praise  of  Christ's  spouse,  that  she 
is  all  glorious  within.  This  leaven  must  be  hid  in  the  meal. 
Which  is  the  third  point,  the  subject,  Three  measures  of 
meal.  Observe, 

1.  Three  measures.  We  have  no  time  to  discuss  the 
literal,  and  numerous  glosses  hence  inferred,  and  by  some 
enforced.  Either  what  the  measure  is  ;  translated  by  some 
a  peck ;  for  this  read  the  marginal  note  in  the  new  transla- 
tion. Or  what  are  those  three  f  by  which  some  understand 
the  three  parts  of  the  world,  Europe,  Asia,  Africa ;  some 
the  whole  man.  which  they  will  have  to  consist  of  the  body, 
soul,  and  conscience.  Others  refer  it  to  the  soul,  wherein 
they  find  the  understanding,  will,  and  affections.    The  un- 


40  THE  LEAVEN  ;  OB, 

derstanding  enlightened,  the  will  reformed,  the  affections 
sanctified.  But  I  rather  take  it  sjjoken,  not  with  special 
reference  to  this  particular  number,  but  a  finite  number  put 
for  an  indefinite.  The  gospel,  by  the  power  of  the  Spirit, 
doth  sanctify  the  whole  man,  and  gets  conquest  over  sin  and 
Satan.  Therefore,  not  to  stretch  the  words  of  Christ  fur- 
ther than  he  meant  them,  but  to  keep  the  bounds  of  so- 
briety, laying  our  hand  on  our  lips,  and  where  we  under- 
stand not,  to  be  silent,  let  our  instruction  be  this.  The 
gospel  is  of  such  force,  that  it  can  leaven  us  throughout ; 
whatever  we  are,  more  or  less  we  shall  be  made  clean  by 
the  Word.  "  Now  are  ye  clean  through  the  Word  I  have 
spoken  unto  you,"  John  xv.  3. 

Thus  God's  httle  beginnings  have  great  effects.  Hoc 
discrimen  inter  opera  Dei  et  mundi:  (This  is  the  difference 
between  the  works  of  God  and  the  world.)  The  works  of 
the  world  have  a  great  and  sweUing  entrance,  but  mah  fine 
clauduntur,  they  go  lame  off.  But  the  works  of  God,  fi-om 
a  slender  beginning,  have  a  glorious  issue.  So  unequal 
are  his  ways  and  ours ;  a  little  mustard  seed  proves  a  great 
tree :  a  little  leaven  (saith  Paul,  though  in  another  sense) 
sours  the  whole  lump.  How  proudly  the  world  begins, 
how  it  halts  in  the  conclusion.  The  Tower  of  Babel  is 
begun,  as  if  it  scorned  earth,  and  dared  heaven :  how 
quickly,  how  easily  is  all  dashed  !  Behold  Nebuchadnezzar 
entering  on  the  stage,  with  who  is  God !  but  he  goes  off  to 
feed  with  beasts.  So  dissolute  is.  our  pride  at  the  breaking 
out,  so  desolate  at  the  shutting  up.  God,  from  a  low  and 
slender  ground  (at  least  in  our  opinion),  raiseth  up  moun- 
tains of  wonders  to  us,  of  praises  to  himself  J oseph  from 
the  prison  shall  be  taken  up  into  the  second  chariot  of 
P'gypt.  Drowning  Moses  shall  come  to  countermand  a 
monarch.  David  shall  be  fetched  from  the  sheep-folds  to 
the  throne.  The  world  begins  with  great  promises  ;  but 
could  it  give  as  much  as  ever  the  prince  of  it  proffered  to 
Christ,  it  cannot  keep  thy  bones  from  the  ague,  thy  flesh 
from  worms,  nor  thy  soul  from  hell.  Behold,  a  Uttle  leaven 
shall  sanctify  thee  throughout  ;  the  folly  of  preaching  shall 
save  thy  soul,  and  raise  thy  body  to  eternal  glorj-. 


A  DIRECTION  TO  HEAVEN. 


41 


2.  This  leaven  must  be  put  in  flour  or  meal.  There  must 
be  a  fit  matter  to  work  on.  It  must  not  be  mixed  -with 
ashes,  or  sand,  or  bran,  but  meal.  It  doth  no  good  on  the 
reprobate  Jews,  but  broken-hearted  Gentiles.  Not  on  atheists 
and  mockers,  but  on  repentant  souls,  groaning  beneath  the 
burden  of  their  sins.  Hence  so  many  come  to  this  place  of 
leavening,  and  return  unleavened ;  their  hearts  are  not  pre- 
pared, how  should  they  be  repaired  ?  They  are  sand  or 
dust,  not  meal  or  flour.  There  must  be  a  congruity  or 
pliableness  of  the  subject  to  the  worker.  Christ  doth  not 
gather  wolves  and  goats  into  his  fold,  but  sheep.  He  doth 
not  plant  weeds  and  thorns  in  his  garden,  but  lilies,  roses, 
and  pomegranates.  The  dogs  and  swine  are  excluded  the 
gates  of  heaven ;  only  the  lambs  enter  to  that  holy  Lamb  of 
God.  Ashes  and  rubbish  cannot  be  conglutinate  by  leaven, 
but  meal.  While  you  bring  other  substances,  look  you  to 
be  leavened  ?  You  may  put  leaven  to  stones  and  rocks  long 
enough  ere  you  make  them  bread.  When  you  bring  so 
unfit  natures  with  you,  complain  not  that  you  are  not 
leavened. 

3.  The  third  observation  hence  serves  to  take  awav  an 
objection  raised  against  the  former  conclusion.  You  say 
Christ  will  not  accept  of  goats  into  his  fold,  nor  thorns  into 
his  vineyard  ;  nor  can  leaven  work  eflectually  upon  incapable 
natures,  as  sand,  stones,  or  ashes ;  but  wherefore  serves  the 
word  but  to  turn  goats  into  sheep,  and  wild  olives  into 
vines,  and  refi-actory  servants  into  obedient  sons  ?  The  gos- 
pel intends  the  expunction  of  the  old  image,  and  a  new 
creation  of  us  in  Christ  Jesus.  True,  it  doth  so  ;  but  still 
there  must  be  in  you  a  co-working  answerableness  to  the 
gospel.  Whiles  you  obstinately  will  continue  dust  and 
stones,  look  you  to  be  leavened  ?  First  grind  your  hearts 
with  a  true  repentance  for  your  sins  ;  or  because  you  cannot 
do  it  of  yourselves,  beseech  God  to  break  your  stony  bowels 
with  his  Spirit,  and  to  grind  you  with  remorse  and  sorrow. 
Of  com  is  made  bread ;  but  not  till  first  it  be  turned  to 
meal.  ITie  unbeaten  com  will  make  no  paste  or  dough. 
Though  there  be  matter  in  us — for  we  are  reasonable  crea- 


42         THK  LEAVEN  ;  OR  A  DmECTION  TO  HEAVEN. 

tures — j-et  God  must  turn  our  com  into  meal,  prepare  our 
hearts  with  fit  qualities  to  receive  his  grace.  True  it  is, 
that  God  doth  often  work  this  preparation  also  by  preach- 
ing ;  as  our  sermons  have  two  subjects,  the  law  and  the 
gospel.  By  the  law  we  must  be  ground  to  meal,  before 
the  gospel  can  leaven  us.  Christ  here  speaks  of  sanctifica- 
tion,  the  effect  of  the  gospel.  For  the  law  admits  of  no 
repentance  ;  because  we  cannot  satisfy  for  the  evils  we  have 
already  committed.  Thus  we  are  com  men  ;  but  must  be 
ground  to  meal  before  fit  to  be  leavened.  There  is  matter 
in  the  rock  to  build  a  house  of,  but  not  form,  tUl  it  be 
heivn  and  squared.  Thus  God  by  his  grace  must  prepare 
us  to  receive  his  grace,  and  by  first  making  us  meal,  to 
leaven  us.  Away  then  with  that  popish  doctrine  of  self- 
preparation  by  congruity  ;  God  works  first,  in  order  of  place, 
if  not  of  time.  We  weakly  meet  him,  when  his  secret  oper- 
ation has  once  called  us.  AVe  are  men,  there  is  in  us  rea- 
son, will,  capableness,  which  are  not  in  a  block,  in  a  beast. 
Yet  hitherto  we  are  but  com.  Our  God  must  grind  us  to 
meal  by  his  law,  and  then  leaven  us  by  his  gospel. 

This  is  the  subject.  The  continuance  is,  till  the  whole 
be  leavened.  We  must  preach,  and  you  must  hear  the 
gospel  perpetually,  till  you  be  wholly  leavened.  Which  be- 
cause you  cannot  fully  attain  in  this  world,  therefore  you 
frequent  the  place  of  leavening  till  death.  Peter  doth  warn 
the  pure  minds  of  the  saints  (2  Pet.  iii.  1)  :  and  Paul 
preachetb  the  law,  even  to  those  that  know  the  law  (Rom. 
vii.  1.)  You  canuot  be  perfect,  yet  labour  to  perfection. 
Sit  not  down  with  that  pharisaical  opinion — we  are  leavened 
enough.  The  more  you  know,  the  more  you  know  your  own 
wants.  "  Now  the  very  God  of  peace  sanctify  you  wholly, 
and  I  pray  God,  that  your  whole  spirit  and  soul  and  body 
be  preserved  blameless  unto  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.    Amen,"  1  Thess.  v.  23. 


A  CRUCIFIX, 


A    SERMON    UPON    THE  PASSION. 


'  He  halh  glren  himself  for  ns.  an  offcrlnir  nnd  a  sacriflcc  to  God  for  a  sweet  •mell. 


A  CRUCIFIX; 


A   SEEMON   UPON  THE  PASSION. 


"  Me  hath  given  himself  for  uSianolTerlncandaiactlfice  toGod  for  a  tveet  smell- 
ing savour."— JfpAei.  t.  2. 


This  latter  part  of  the  verse  is  a  fair  and  lively  crucifix,  cut 
by  the  hand  of  a  most  exquisite  carver, — not  to  amaze  our 
corporal  lights  with  a  piece  of  wood,  brass,  or  stone,  curi- 
ously engraven,  to  the  increase  of  a  carnal  devotion,  but  to 
present  to  the  eye  of  the  conscience  the  grievous  passion, 
and  gracious  compassion  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  "  Who 
gave  himself  for  us,"  &c.  This  crucifix  presents  to  our  eye 
seven  considerable 

'Who,  Christ. 
What,  Gave. 
Whom,  Himself. 
Circumstances ;  ^  To  whom.  To  God. 

For  whom.  For  us. 

After  what  manner.  An  offering  and  sacrifice. 
Of  what  effect.  Of  a  sweet  savour. 

The  points,  you  see,  lie  as  ready  for  our  discourse  as  the 
way  did  fi-om  Bethany  to  Jerusalem ;  only  fail  not  my 


46  A  CRUCIFIX  ;  OR, 

speech,  nor  your  attention,  till  we  come  to  the  journey's 
end. 

Who. — The  person  that  gives  is  Christ ;  the  quality  of 
his  person  doth  highly  commend  his  exceeding  love  to  us. 
We  will  ascend  to  this  consideration  by  four  stairs  or  de- 
grees, and  descend  by  four  other.  Both  in  going  up  and 
coming  down  we  shall  perceive  the  admirable  love  of  the 
giver.    Ascendant!} — 

1.  We  will  consider  him  hominem,  a  man.  "  Behold 
the  man,"  John  xix.  5,  saith  Pilate.  We  may  tarry  and 
wonder  at  his  lowest  degree,  that  a  man  should  give  himself 
for  man.  "  For  scarcely  for  a  righteous  man  will  one  die," 
Rom.  V.  7.  But  this  man  gave  himself  for  unrighteous 
men,  to  die,  not  an  ordinar}-,  but  a  grievous  death,  exposing 
himself  to  the  wrath  of  God,  to  the  tjTanny  of  men  and 
devils.  It  would  pity  our  hearts  to  see  a  poor  dumb  beast 
so  terrified  j  how  much  more  hominem,  a  man,  the  image  of 
God! 

2.  The  second  degree  gives  him  hominem  innocentem,  an 
innocent  man.  Pilate  could  say,  "  I  have  found  no  fault 
in  this  man,"  Luke  xxili.  14;  no,  nor  yet  Herod.  No,  nor 
the  devil,  who  would  have  been  right  glad  of  such  an  ad- 
vantage. So  Pilate's  wife  sent  her  husband  word,  "  Have 
thou  nothing  to  do  with  that  just  man,"  Matth.  xx^-iL  19. 
So  the  person  is  not  only  a  man,  but  a  just  man,  that  gave 
himself  to  endure  such  horrors  for  us.  If  we  pity  the  death 
of  malefactors,  how  should  our  compassion  be  to  one  inno- 
cent ! 

3.  In  the  third  degree,  he  is  not  only  homo,  a  man,  and 
Justus  homo,  a  good  man ;  but  also  magnus  homo,  a  great 
man,  royally  descended  from  the  ancient  patriarchs  and 
kings  of  Judah.  Pilate  had  so  written  his  title,  and  he 
would  answer,  not  alter  it,  Quod  scripsi,  scripsi:  ("VMiat  I  have 
written,  I  have  written.)  And  what  was  that  ?  "  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  the  King  of  the  Jews,"  John  xix.  19.  Now  as 
is  the  person,  so  is  the  passion  :  the  more  noble  the  giver, 
the  more  excellent  the  gift.    That  so  high  a  king  would 


A  SERMON  UPON  TUB  PASSION. 


47 


suffer  such  contempt  and  obloquy  to  be  cast  upon  him,  when 
the  least  part  of  his  disgrace  had  been  too  much  for  a  man 
of  mean  condition  !  That  a  man,  a  good  man,  a  great  man, 
bore  such  calumny,  such  calamity,  for  our  sakes.  Here  was 
an  unmatchable,  an  unspeakable  love. 

4.  This  is  enough,  but  this  is  not  all.  There  is  yet 
a  higher  degree  in  this  ascent ;  we  are  not  come  to  our 
full  quantus.  It  is  this  :  he  was  plus  quam  homo,  more  than 
man  ;  not  only  maximus  hominum,  but  vwjor  hominibus,  the 
greatest  of  men  ;  yea,  greater  than  all  men.  Not  mere 
Jilius  hominis,  but  vere  Jilius  Dei;  he  was  more  than  tlie  son 
of  man,  even  the  Son  of  God.  As  the  centurion  acknow- 
ledged, "  Truly  this  man  was  the  Son  of  God,"  Mark  xv. 
39.  Here  be  all  the  four  stairs  upwards  :  a  man,  a  harm- 
less man,  a  princely  man  ;  and  yet  more  than  man,  even 
God  himself.  Solomon  was  a  great  king,  but  here  is  a 
greater  than  Solomon.  Solomon  was  Christus  Domini,  but 
here  is  Christus  Dominus.  He  was  the  anointed  of  the  Lord, 
but  this  is  the  Lord  himself  anointed.  And  here  all  tongues 
grow  dumb,  and  admiration  sealeth  up  every  Hp.  This  is  a 
depth  beyond  sounding.  You  may  perhaps  drowsily  hear 
this,  and  coldly  be  affected  with  it ;  but  let  me  say,  princi- 
palities and  powers,  angels  and  seraphims,  stood  amazed 
at  it. 

We  see  the  ascent.  Shall  we  bring  down  again  this  con- 
sideration by  as  many  stairs  ? 

1.  Consider  him.  Almighty  God,  taking  upon  him  man's 
nature.  This  is  the  first  step  downwards.  "  The  word  was 
made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,"  John  i.  14.  And  "  God 
sent  forth  his-Son  made  of  a  woman,"  Gal.  iv.  4.  And  this 
was  done,  Naturam  suscipicndo  nostrum,  non  vmtando  suam 
(Aug.  Epist.  120),  by  putting  on  our  nature,  not  by 
putting  off  his  own.  Homo  Deo  accessit,  non  Deus  a  se  re- 
cessit:  (Humanity  is  united  to  the  Godhead,  but  the  Godhead 
is  not  disassociated  from  itself.)  He  is  both  God  and  man, 
yet  but  one  Christ ;  one,  not  by  confusion  of  substance,  but 
by  unity  of  person.  Now  in  that  this  eternal  God  became 
man,  he  suffered  more  than  man  can  suffer,  either  living  or 


48  A  CRUCIFIX  ;  OK, 

dead.  That  man  should  be  turned  into  a  beast,  into  a 
■worm,  into  dust,  into  nothing,  is  not  so  great  a  disparage- 
ment as  that  the  glorious  God  should  become  man.  "  He 
that  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God,  was  made 
in  the  likeness  of  man."  He  that  is  "  more  excellent  than 
the  angels,"  became  lower  than  the  angels.  Even  the 
brightness  of  God's  glory  takes  on  him  the  baseness  of 
our  nature ;  and  he  that  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth, 
and  made  the  world,  is  now  in  the  world  made  himself. 
This  is  the  first  descending  degree. 

2.  The  second  stair  brings  him  yet  lower.  He  is  made 
man  ;  but  what  man  ?  Let  him  be  universal  monarch  of 
the  world,  and  have  fealty  and  homage  acknowledged  to 
him  from  all  kings  and  emperors,  as  his  viceroys.  Let  him 
walk  upon  crowns  and  sceptres,  and  let  princes  attend  on 
his  court ;  and  here  was  some  majesty  that  might  a  little 
become  the  Son  of  God.  No  such  matter.  Induit  formam 
servi:  "  He  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant,"  Phil.  ii. 
7.  He  instructs  us  to  humility  by  his  own  example.  "  The 
Son  of  man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minis- 
ter," Matth.  XX.  28.  "  O  Israel,  thou  hast  made  me  to 
serve  with  thy  sins,"  Isa.  xliii.  24.  He  gave  himself  for  a 
minister,  not  for  a  master ;  ad  servitttlem,  non  ad  domina- 
tionem.  He  that  is  God's  Son  is  made  man's  servant. 
Proudly  blind,  and  blindly  poor  man,  that  thou  shouldest 
have  such  a  servant  as  the  Son  of  thy  Maker.  This  is  the 
second  step  downwards. 

3.  This  is  not  low  enough  yet :  "I  am  a  worm,  Jind  no  man," 
saith  the  Psalmist  in  his  person.  Yea,  the  shame  of  men 
and  contempt  of  the  people.  He  is  called  (Psalm  xxiv.  7) 
the  lung  of  glory.  "  Be  ye  open,  ye  everlasting  doors,  and 
the  King  of  glory  shall  come  in  ;"  but  Isaiah  says,  He  is 
despised  and  rejected  of  men  :  we  hid  as  it  were  our  faces 
from  him  :  he  was  despised,  and  we  esteemed  him  not." 
O  the  pity  of  God,  that  those  two  should  come  so  near  to- 
gether, the  King  of  glorj-,  and  the  shame  of  men.  Qiio 
celsior  majestas,  eo  mirahilior  humilitas:  (The  loftier  the  ma- 
jesty, the  lovelier  the  humility.)    Thus  saith  the  apostle. 


A  SERMON  UPON  TUE  PASSION.  49 

"  He  made  himself  of  no  reputation,"  Diil.  ii.  7.  He  that 
requires  all  honour  as  properly  due  to  him,  makes  himself 
(not  of  little,  but)  of  no  reputation.  Here  was  dejection, 
yea,  here  was  rejection.  Let  him  be  laid  in  his  poor  cradle, 
the  Bethlehemites  reject  him  ;  the  manger  must  serve — no 
room  for  him  in  the  inn.  Yea,  "  He  came  to  his  own,  and 
his  own  received  him  not,"  John  i.  11.  All  Israel  is  too 
hot  for  him ;  he  is  glad  to  fly  into  Egj-pt  for  protection. 
Comes  he  to  Jerusalem,  which  ho  had  honoured  vnih  his 
presence,  instructed  with  his  sermons,  amazed  with  his  mi- 
racles, wet  and  bedewed  with  his  tears  ?  They  reject  him. 
"I  would,  and  ye  would  not."  Comes  he  to  his  kindred  ? 
They  deride  and  traduce  him,  as  if  they  were  ashamed  of  his 
alliance.  Comes  he  to  his  disciples  ?  "  They  go  back,  and 
will  walk  no  more  with  him,"  John  vi.  66.  WiU  yet  his 
apostles  tarry  with  him  ?  So  they  say,  verse  68.  "  Lord, 
to  whom  shall  we  go  ?  thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life." 
Yet  at  last  one  betrays  him,  another  forswears  him ;  all  for- 
sake him;  and  Jesus  is  left  alone  in  the  midst  of  his  enemies. 
Can  malice  yet  add  some  further  aggravation  to  his  con- 
tempt ?  yes,  they  crucify  him  with  malefactors.  The  qua- 
lity of  his  company  is  made  to  increase  his  dishonour.  In 
medio  latronum,  tanquam  lalronum  immanissiimis.  In  the 
midst  of  thieves,  as  it  were  the  prince  of  thieves,  saith 
Luther,  He  that  "  thought  it  no  robbery  to  be  equal  to  the 
most  holy  God,"  is  made  equal  to  tliieves  and  murderers  ; 
yea,  tanquam  dux,  as  it  were  a  captain  amongst  them. 
This  is  the  third  step. 

4.  But  we  must  go  yet  lower.  Behold  now  the  deepest 
stair  and  the  greatest  rejection.  Affligit  me  Deits:  "  The 
Lord  hath  afflicted  me  in  the  day  of  his  fierce  anger," 
Lament,  i.  12.  "It  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him  ;  he 
hath  put  him  to  grief,"  Isaiah  Hii.  10.  No  burden  seems 
heav}',  when  the  comforts  of  God  help  to  bear  it.  When 
God  will  give  solace,  vexation  makes  but  idle  offers  and 
assaults.  But  now  to  the  rejection  of  all  the  former,  the 
Lord  turns  his  back  upon  him  as  a  stranger ;  the  Lord 
wounds  him  as  an  enemy.  He  cries  out,  "  My  God,  my 
p 


50  A  CRCcinx ;  or, 

God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  How  could  the  sun 
and  stars,  heaven  and  earth,  stand  while  their  Maker  thus 
complained  !  Tlie  former  degree  was  deep  ;  he  was  crucified 
with  evil-doers ;  reckoned  amongst  the  wicked.  Yet  thieves 
fared  better  in  death  than  he.  We  find  no  Irrision,  no  in- 
sultation,  no  taunts,  no  invectives  against  them.  They  had 
nothing  upon  them  but  pain,  he  botli  contempt  and  tor- 
ment. If  scorn  and  derision  can  vex  his  good  soul,  he  shall 
have  it  in  peals  of  ordnance  shot  against  him.  Even  the 
basest  enemies  shall  give  it ;  Jews  soldiers,  persecutors,  yea, 
suffering  malefactors,  spare  not  to  flout  him.  His  blood 
cannot  appease  them  without  his  reproach.  But  yet  the 
disciples  are  but  weak  men,  the  Jews  but  cruel  persecutors, 
the  devils  but  malicious  enemies ;  all  these  do  but  their 
kind;  but  the  lowest  degree  is,  God  forgets  him,  and  in  his 
feeling  he  is  forsaken  of  the  Highest.  Weigh  all  these  cir- 
cumstances, and  you  shall  truly  behold  the  person  that  gave 
himself  for  us. 

What. — We  come  to  the  action,  Dedit.  Giving  is  the 
argument  of  a  fi-ee  disposition.  "  I  lay  down  my  life  ;  no 
man  taketh  it  firom  me,  but  I  lay  it  down  of  myself.  I  have 
power  to  lay  it  down,  and  I  have  power  to  take  it  again," 
John  X.  17,  18.  He  that  gives  life  to  us,  gave  up  his 
own  life  for  us.  He  did  not  sell,  set,  let,  or  lend,  but  give. 
OUatus  est,  quia  ipse  voluit.  He  was  offered,  because  he 
would  be  offered.  No  hand  could  cut  that  stone  fi-om  the 
quarry  of  heaven ;  no  violence  pull  him  from  the  bosom  of 
his  Father,  but  sua  misericordia,  his  o^vn  mercy  :  he  gave. 
"  He  Cometh  leaping  upon  the  mountains,  skipping  upon 
the  hills,"  Cant.  ii.  8.  He  comes  with  willingness  and  ce- 
lerity, no  human  resistance  could  hinder  him  ;  not  the  hil- 
locks of  our  lesser  infirmities,  not  the  mountains  of  our 
grosser  iniquities,  could  stay  his  merciful  pace  towards  us. 

He  gave  his  life  ;  who  could  bereave  him  of  it  ?  To 
all  the  high  priest's  armed  forces  he  gave  but  a  verbal  en- 
counter, /  am  he  ;  and  they  retire  and  fall  backward  ;  his 
very  breath  dispersed  them  all.    He  could  as  easily  have 


A  SERMON  UPON  THE  PASSION.  51 

commanded  fire  fi:om  heaven  to  consume  them,  or  vapours 
from  the  earth  to  choke  them  ;  he  that  controls  devils 
could  easily  have  quaUed  men.  More  than  twelve  legions 
of  angels  were  at  his  back,  and  every  angel  able  to  conquer 
a  legion  of  men.  He  gives  them  leave  to  take  him,  yea 
power  to  kill  him ;  from  himself  is  that  power  which  appre- 
hends himself.  Even  while  he  stands  before  Pilate  scorned, 
yet  he  tells  him,  "  Thou  couldst  have  no  power  against  me," 
nisi  dalam  desuper,  "  unless  it  were  given  thee  from  above." 
His  own  strength  leads  him,  not  his  adversaries  ;  he  could 
have  been  freed,  but  he  would  not ;  constraint  had  abated 
liis  merit ;  he  will  deserve  though  he  die. 

The  loss  of  his  hfe  was  necessary,  yet  was  it  also  volimtary  ; 
Quod  amiltilur  necessarium  est  quod  emitlitur  voluntarium 
(Ambrose) ;  therefore  he  gave  up  the  ghost.  In  spite  of  all  the 
world  he  might  have  kept  his  soul  within  his  body ;  he  would 
not.  The  world  should  have  been  burned  to  cinders,  and 
all  creatures  on  earth  resolved  to  their  original  dust,  before 
he  could  have  been  enforced.  INIan  could  not  take  away 
his  spirit ;  therefore  he  gave  it.  Otherwise,  if  his  passion  had 
been  only  operis  and  not  voluntatis,  material  and  not  formal, 
it  could  not  have  been  meritorious,  or  afforded  satisfaction 
for  us.    For  that  is  only  done  well  that  is  done  of  our  wiU. 

But  it  is  objected  out  of  Heb.  v.  7,  that  "  he  olTered  up 
prayers  and  supplications,  with  strong  crying  and  tears, 
unto  him  that  was  able  to  save  him  from  death."  Hence 
some  blasphemers  say,  that  Christ  was  a  coward  in  fearing 
the  natural  death  of  the  body.  If  he  had  so  feared  it,  he 
needed  not  to  have  tasted  it.  Christ  indeed  did  naturally 
fear  death,  otherwise  he  had  not  been  so  affected  as  an  or- 
dinary man.  Yet  he  willingly  suffered  death,  otherwise  he 
had  not  been  so  well  affected  as  an  ordinary  martyr.  But 
he  prays  thrice.  Let  this  cup  pass.  Divines  usually  distin- 
guish here  the  sententiaries,  thus  :  That  there  was  in  Christ 
a  double  human  or  created  wUl,  the  one  voluntas  ut  natura, 
a  natural  will  ;  the  other  voluntas  ut  ratio,  a  reasonable  will. 
Christ,  according  to  his  natural  will,  trembled  at  the  pangs 
of  death,  and  this  without  sin  ;  for  nature  abhorreth  all  de- 


62  A  CRUCIFIX  ;  OR, 

structive  things.  But  in  regard  of  his  rational  ■will,  he  'will- 
ingly submits  himself  to  drink  that  cup.  Not  as  I  u-ill,  O 
Father,  hut  as  thou  wilt.  A  man,  saith  Aquinas,  -will  not 
naturally  endure  the  lancing  of  any  member,  yet  by  his  rea- 
sonable will  he  consents  to  it,  for  the  good  of  the  whole 
body ;  reason  masters  sense,  and  cutting  or  cauterizing  is 
endured.  So  Christ,  by  the  strength  of  his  natural  will, 
feared  death  ;  but  by  his  reason,  perceiving  that  the  cutting, 
wounding,  crucifying  of  the  Head,  would  bring  health  to 
the  whole  body  of  his  church,  and  either  he  must  bleed  on 
the  cross,  or  we  must  all  burn  in  hell ;  behold  now  he  will- 
ingly and  cheerfully  gives  himself  an  offering  and  sacrifice 
to  God  for  us. 

But  was  it  a  mere  temporal  death  that  our  Saviour  feared  ? 
No  ;  he  saw  the  fierce  wrath  of  his  Father,  and  therefore 
feared.  Many  resolute  men  have  not  shrunk  at  a  little ; 
divers  martyrs  have  endured  strange  torments  with  magna- 
nimity. But  now  when  he  that  gave  them  strength  quakes 
at  death,  shall  we  say  he  was  a  coward  ?  Alas,  that  which 
would  have  overwhelmed  man,  would  not  have  made  him 
shrink  ;  that  which  he  feared,  no  mortal  man  but  himself 
ever  felt ;  yet  he  feared.  The  despair  of  many  thousand 
men  was  not  so  much  as  for  liim  to  fear.  He  saw  that 
which  none  saw,  the  anger  of  an  infinite  God ;  he  perfectly 
apprehended  the  cause  of  fear,  our  sin  and  torment ;  he  saw 
the  bottom  of  the  cup,  how  bitter  and  dreggish  every  drop 
of  that  -nal  was  ;  he  truly  understood  the  burden  which  we 
make  light  of.  Men  fear  not  hell  because  they  know  it  not. 
If  they  could  see  through  the  opened  gates,  the  insufferable 
horrors  of  that  pit,  trembling  and  quaking  would  run  like 
an  ague  through  their  bones.  This  insupportable  load  he 
saw  ;  that  the  sponge  of  vengeance  must  be  wrung  out  to 
him,  and  he  must  suck  it  up  to  the  last  and  least  drop. 
Ever)'  talent  of  our  iniquities  must  be  laid  upon  him,  till,  as 
"  a  cart,  he  be  laden  -with  sheaves,"  Amos  ii.  13.  And  with  all 
this  pressure  he  must  mount  his  chariot  of  death,  the  cross, 
and  there  bear  it,  till  the  appeased  God  gave  way  to  a  con- 
summatum  est :  "  It  is  finished." 


A  SERMON  UPON  THE  PASSION.  53 

The  philosopher  could  say,  that  sapiens  miser  magis  est 
miser,  qitam  stultus  miser :  a  wise  man  miserable,  is  more 
miserable  than  a  fool  miserable,  because  he  understands  his 
miser}-.  So  that  our  Sa\'iour's  pangs  ■were  aggravated  by 
the  fulness  of  his  knowledge.  No  marvel  then  if  lie  might 
justly  take  David's  words  out  of  his  mouth,  "  Thy  terrors 
have  I  suffered  with  a  troubled  mind."  This  thought  drew 
from  liim  those  tears  of  blood.  His  eyes  had  formerly  wept 
for  our  misdoings  ;  his  whole  body  now  weeps  ;  not  a  faint 
dew,  but  he  sweat  out  solid  drops  of  blood.  The  thorns, 
scourges,  nails,  fetched  blood  from  him,  but  not  with  such 
pain  as  this  sweat.  Outward  violence  drew  on  those  ;  these 
the  extremity  of  his  troubled  thought.  Here,  then,  was  his 
cause  of  fear.  He  saw  our  everlasting  destruction,  if  he 
suffered  not ;  he  saw  the  horrors  which  he  must  suffer  to 
ransom  us.  Hinc  illce  lachrymce  ;  hence  those  groans,  tears, 
cries,  and  sweat ;  yet  his  love  conquered  all.  By  nature  he 
could  willingly  have  avoided  this  cup  ;  for  love's  sake  to  us 
he  took  it  in  a  willing  hand  ;  so  he  had  purposed,  so  he 
hath  performed.  And  now  to  testify  his  love,  saith  my 
text,  he  freely  gave. 

Whom  ?  Himself. — This  is  the  third  circumstance ;  the 
pft,  himself. 

Not  an  angel  ;  for  an  angel  cannot  sufficiently  mediate 
between  an  immortal  nature  offended,  and  a  mortal  nature 
corrupted.  The  glorious  angels  are  blessed,  but  finite  and 
limited,  and  therefore  unable  for  this  expiation.  They  can- 
not be  so  sensibly  "  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmi- 
ties," Heb.  iv.  15,  as  he  that  was,  in  our  o\yn  nature,  in 
aU  points  tempted  like  as  we  are,  sin  only  excepted. 

Not  saints,  for  they  have  no  more  oil  than  will  serve 
their  own  lamps  ;  they  have  enough  for  themselves,  not  of 
themselves,  all  of  Christ,  but  none  to  spare.  Fools  cry, 
give  us  of  your  oil  ;  they  answer,  "  Not  so,  lest  there  be 
not  enough  for  us  and  you  ;  but  go  ye  rather  to  them  that 
sell,  and  buy  for  yourselves,"  Matt.  xxv.  9.  They  could 
not  propitiate  for  sin,  that  were  themselves  guilty  of  sin, 


64 


A  CRUCIFIX  ;  OR, 


and  by  nature  liable  to  condemnation.  Wretched  idolaters, 
that  thrust  this  honour  on  them  against  their  wills ;  how 
would  they  abhor  such  sacrilegious  glory  ? 

Not  the  riches  of  this  world  ;  "  We  were  not  redeemed 
with  corruptible  things,  as  silver  and  gold,"  1  Pet.  i.  18. 
Were  the  riches  of  the  old  world  brought  together  to  the 
riches  of  the  new  world ;  were  all  the  mineral  veins  of  the 
earth  emptied  of  their  purest  metals,  this  pay  would  not  be 
current  with  God.  It  will  cost  more  to  redeem  souls, 
"  They  that  trust  in  their  wealth,  and  boast  in  the  multi- 
tude of  their  riches,  yet  cannot  by  any  means  redeem  their 
brother,  nor  give  to  God  a  ransom  for  him,"  Psalm  xlix. 
6,  7.  The  servant  cannot  redeem  the  Lord.  God  made  a 
man  master  of  these  things  ;  he  is  then  more  precious  than 
his  slaves. 

Not  the  blood  of  bulls  or  goats,  Heb.  ix.  Alas !  those 
legal  sacrifices  were  but  dumb  shows  of  this  tragedy,  the 
mere  figures  of  this  oblation,  m}'stically  presenting  to 
their  faith  that  "  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sins 
of  the  world."  Thiy  Lamb  was  prefigured  in  the  sacrifices 
of  the  law,  and  now  presented  in  the  sacraments  of  the  gos- 
pel, slain  indeed  fi-om  the  beginning  of  the  world.  Who 
had  power,  prodesse,  to  profit  us,  before  he  had  esse,  a 
human  being  himself.    None  of  these  would  serve. 

Whom  gave  he  then  ?  Seipsum,  llimself,  who  was  both  God 
and  man  ;  that  so  participating  of  both  natures,  our  mor- 
tality and  God's  immortality,  he  might  be  a  perfect  media- 
tor. Apparuit  igitur  inter  mortales  peccatores  et  immorta- 
lem  justum,  mortalis  cum  hominibus,  Justus  cum  Deo  (Aug. 
Confes.  Ub.  X.  cap.  43.)  He  came  between  mortal  men 
and  immortal  God,  mortal  with  men,  and  just  with  God. 
As  man  he  sufiered,  as  God  he  satisfied ;  as  God  and  man 
he  saved.    He  gave  himself, 


1.  All  himself,  his  whole  person,  soul  and  body,  godhead 
and  manhood.    Though  the  Deity  could  not  suffer,  yet  in 


A  SERMON  UPON  THE  PASSION.  55 

regard  of  the  personal  union  of  these  two  natures  in  one 
Christ,  his  very  passion  is  attributed  in  some  sort  to  the  God- 
head. So  Acts  XX.  28,  it  is  called  the  "  blood  of  God;"  and 
1  Cor.  ii.  8,  "The  Lord  of  glory"  is  said  to  "becnicified."  The 
school's  distinction  here  makes  all  plain.  He  gave  Totum 
Christum,  though  not  Totum  Chi-isti ;  all  Christ,  though  not 
all  of  Christ ;  Homa  non  valuit,  Deus  non  voluit ;  as  God 
alone,  he  would  not,  as  man  alone,  he  could  not  make  this 
satisfaction  for  us.  The  Deity  is  impassable ;  yet  was  it  im- 
possible, without  this  Deity,  for  the  great  work  of  our  salva- 
tion to  be  wrought.  If  any  ask,  how  the  manhood  could 
suffer  without  violence  to  the  Godhead,  being  united  in  one 
person,  let  him  understand  it  by  a  familiar  comparison. 
The  sunbeams  shine  on  a  tree,  the  axe  cuts  do^vn  this  tree, 
yet  can  it  not  hurt  the  beams  of  the  sun.  So  the  Godhead 
still  remains  unharmed,  though  the  axe  of  death  did  for  a 
while  fell  down  the  manhood.  Corpus  possum  est  dolore  el 
gladioi  anima  dolore  non  gladio,  divinitasnec  dolore  iiec  gladio. 
His  body  suffered  both  sorrow  and  the  swoi-d ;  his  soul  sor- 
row, not  the  sword ;  his  deity  neither  sorrow  nor  the  sword. 
Deltas  in  dolente,  non  in  dolore.  The  Godhead  was  in  the 
person  paLaed,  yet  not  in  the  pain. 

2.  Himself  only,  and  that  wthout  a 

1.  Without  a  partner  that  might  share  either  his  glory 
or  our  thanks,  of  both  which  he  is  justly  jealous.  Christi 
passio  adjutore  non  eguit  (Ambrose.)  The  sufferings  of  our 
Saviour  need  no  help.  Upon  good  cause,  therefore,  we 
abhor  that  doctrine  of  the  papists,  that  our  offences  are  ex- 
piated by  the  passions  of  the  saints.  No,  not  the  blessed 
Virgin  hath  performed  any  part  of  our  justification,  paid 
any  farthing  of  our  debts.  But  thus  sings  the  choir  of 
Rome,  Sancta  virgo  Dorothea,  tua  nos  virtute  bea,  cor  in  no- 
bis novum  crea  ;  (Holy  Virgin,  Dorotha,  enrich  us  with  thy 
words,  create  in  us  new  hearts  !)  Wherein  there  is  pretty 
rh)Tne,  pretty  reason,  but  great  blasphemy  ;  as  if  the  Virgin 
Dorotha  were  able  to  create  a  new  heart  within  us.  No, 


(Pai-tner, 
(Comforter. 


56  A  CRUCIFIX  ;  OR, 

"  but  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin," 
1  John  i.  7.  His  blood,  and  his  only.  O  blessed  Saviour, 
every  drop  of  thy  blood  is  able  to  redeem  a  beUeving  world. 
What,  then,  need  we  the  help  of  men  ?  How  is  Christ  a 
perfect  Saviour  if  any  act  of  our  redemption  he  left  to  the 
performance  of  saint  or  angel  ?  No,  our  souls  must  die, 
if  the  blood  of  Jesus  cannot  save  them.  And  whatsoever 
witty  error  may  dispute  for  the  merits  of  saints,  the  dis- 
tressed conscience  cries,  Christ,  and  none  but  Christ.  They 
may  sit  at  tables  and  discourse,  enter  the  schools  and  argue, 
get  up  into  the  pulpits  and  preach  that  the  works  of  good 
men  is  the  church's  treasure,  given  by  indulgence,  and 
can  give  indulgence,  and  that  they  -vvill  do  the  soul  good. 
But  lie  we  upon  our  death -beds,  panting  for  breath,  driven 
to  the  push,  tossed  with  tumultuous  waves  of  afflictions, 
anguished  with  sorrow  of  spirit,  then  we  sing  another  song 
— Christ,  and  Christ  alone — Jesus,  and  only  Jesus;  mercy, 
mercy,  pardon,  comfort,  for  our  Saviour's  sake  ;  "  Neither 
is  there  salvation  in  any  other  ;  for  there  is  none  other  name 
under  heaven  given  among  men  whereby  we  must  be  saved," 
Acts  iv.  12. 

2.  Without  a  Comforter.  He  was  so  far  from  having  a 
sharer  in  his  passion,  that  he  had  none  in  compassion,  that 
(at  least)  might  anj-ways  ease  his  sorrows.  It  is  but  a 
poor  comfort  of  calamity,  pity  ;  yet  even  that  was  wanting. 
"  Is  it  nothing  to  you,  all  ye  that  pass  by?"  Lam.  i.  12. 
Is  it  so  sore  a  sorrow  to  Christ,  and  is  it  nothing  to  you  ? 
a  matter  not  worth  your  regard,  your  pity  ?  Man  naturally 
desires  and  expects,  if  he  cannot  be  delivered,  ease ;  yet 
to  be  pitied.  "  Have  pity  upon  me,  have  pity  upon  me,  O 
ye  my  friends,  for  the  hand  of  God  hath  touched  me,"  Job 
xix.  21.  Christ  might  make  that  request  of  Job,  but  in 
vain  ;  there  was  none  to  comfort  him,  none  to  pity  him.  It 
is  yet  a  little  mixture  of  refreshing  if  others  be  touched  with 
a  sense  of  our  miser}- ;  that  in  their  hearts  they  wish  U3 
well,  and  would  give  us  ease  if  they  could  ;  but  Christ  hath 
in  his  sorest  pangs  not  so  much  as  a  comforter.  The  mar- 
tyrs have  fought  valiantly  under  the  banner  of  Ch  •'.•■(,  1  , . 


A  SERMON  UPON  THE  PASSION.  57 

cause  he  was  with  them  to  comfort  them.  But  when  him- 
self suffers,  no  relief  is  permitted.  The  most  giievous  tor- 
ments find  some  mitigation  in  the  supply  of  friends  and 
comforters.  Christ  after  his  monomachy  orsingle  combat  with 
the  devil  in  the  desert,  had  angels  to  attend  him.  In  his 
agony  in  the  garden,  an  angel  was  sent  to  comfort  him. 
But  when  he  came  to  the  main  act  of  our  redemption,  not 
an  angel  must  be  seen.  None  of  those  glorious  spirits  may 
look  through  the  windows  of  heaven,  to  give  him  any  ease. 
And  if  they  would  have  relieved  him,  they  could  not.  Who 
can  lift  up  where  the  Lord  will  cast  down  ?  What  chirur- 
geon  can  heal  the  bones  which  the  Lord  hath  broken  ?  But 
his  mother,  and  other  friends,  stand  by,  seeing,  sighing, 
weeping.  Alas  !  what  do  those  tears  but  increase  his  sor- 
row ?  Might  he  not  justly  say  with  Paul,  "  What  mean  ye 
to  weep,  and  to  break  mine  heart?"  Acts  xxi.  13.  Of 
whom  then  shall  he  expect  comfort  ?  Of  his  apostles  ?  Alas ! 
they  betake  them  to  then-  heels.  Fear  of  their  own  danger 
drowns  their  compassion  of  his  miser}-.  He  might  say  with 
Job,  "  iliserable  comforters  are  ye  all."  Of  whom,  then  ? 
The  Jews  are  his  enemies,  and  vie  in  unmercifulness  with 
devils.  There  is  no  other  refuge  but  his  Father.  No,  even 
his  Father  is  angry  ;  and  he  who  once  said,  "  This  is  my 
beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased,"  Matth.  iii.  17,  is 
now  incensed.  He  hides  his  face  from  him,  but  lays  his 
hand  heavy  upon  him,  and  buffets  him  with  anguish.  Thus 
Solus  patitur  :  he  gave  himself,  and  only  himself,  for  our  re- 
demption. 

To  WHOM  ?  To  God ;  and  that  is  the  fourth  circumstance. 
To  whom  should  he  offer  this  sacrifice  of  expiation  but  to  him 
that  was  offended?  and  that  is  God.  "  Against  thee,  thee  only 
have  I  sinned,  and  done  this  evil  in  thy  sight,"  Psalm  li.  4. 
"  Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven,  and  in  thy  sight," 
Luke  XV.  21.  All  sins  are  committed  against  him  :  his  jus- 
tice is  displeased,  and  must  be  satisfied.  To  God  ;  for  God 
is  angrj',  with  what,  and  whom  ?  with  sin  and  us,  and  us 
for  sin.    In  his  just  anger  he  must  smite  ;  but  whom  ?  In 


58  A  CRUCIFIX  ;  on, 

Christ  was  no  sin.  Now  sball  God  do  like  Annas  or  Ana- 
nias ?  "  If  I  have  spoken  evil,"  saith  Christ,  "  bear  wit- 
ness of  the  evil ;  but  if  well,  why  smitest  thou  me,"  John 
xviii.  23.  So  Paul  to  Ananias,  "  God  will  smite  thee,  thou 
whited  wall ;  for  sittest  thou  to  judge  me  after  the  law, 
and  commandest  me  to  be  smitten  contrarj'  to  the  law  ?" 
Acts  xxiii.  3.  So  Abraham  pleads  to  God,  "  Shall  not  the 
Judge  of  all  the  earth  do  right?"  Gen.  xviii.  25.  Espe- 
cially right  to  his  Son,  and  to  that  Son  which  glorified  him 
on  earth,  and  whom  he  hath  now  glorified  in  heaven  ?  We 
must  fetch  the  answer  fi'om  Daniel's  prophecy,  "  The  Mes- 
siah shall  be  cut  off,  but  not  for  himself,"  Dan.  ix.  26.  Not 
for  himself?  For  whom  then  ?  For  solution  hereof  we 
must  step  to  the  fifth  point,  and  there  we  shall  find 

For  Whom  ?  For  us.  He  took  upon  him  our  person,  he 
became  surety  for  us  ;  and,  lo  !  now  the  coiu-se  of  justice  may 
proceed  against  him  !  He  that  will  become  a  surety,  and 
take  on  him  the  debt,  must  be  content  to  pay  it.  Henca 
that  innocent  lamb  must  be  made  a  sacrifice  ;  "  and  he  that 
knew  no  sin  in  himself,  must  be  made  sin  for  us,  that  we 
might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him,"  2  Cor.  v. 
21.  Seven  times  in  three  verses  doth  the  prophet  Isaiah 
inculcate  this.  We,  ours,  us;  Isa.  liii.  4,  5,  6.  We  were 
all  sick,  grievously  sick,  every  sin  was  a  mortal  disease. 
Quot  vitia,  tot  fehres.  "  He  healeth  our  infirmities,"  saith  the 
prophet ;  he  was  our  physician,  a  great  physician.  Magnus 
venit  medicus,  quia  magniis  jacebat  (zgrotus.  The  whole  world 
was  sick  to  death,  and  therefore  needed  a  powerful  physi- 
cian. So  was  he ;  and  took  a  strange  course  for  our  cure ; 
which  was  not  by  giving  us  physic,  but  by  taking  our  phy- 
sic for  us.  Other  patients  drink  the  prescribed  potion ; 
but  our  Physician  drank  the  potion  himself,  and  so  recovered 
us. 

For  us. — Ambr.  Pro  me  doluit,  qui  pro  se  nihil  habuit  quod 
doleret  (De  Fid.  ad  Grat.  Ub.  ii.  cap.  3).  He  sufiered  for 
me,  that  had  no  cause  to  sufler  for  himself.  0  Domine  Jesu, 
doles  non  tua,  sed  vulnera  mea :  (0  Lord  Jesus,  thou  sufierest 


A  SEUMON  UPON  TDK  PASSION.  59 

not  thine  own,  but  my  wounds.)  So  monstrous  were  our 
sins,  that  the  hand  of  the  everlasting  justice  was  ready  to 
strike  us  with  a  fatal  and  final  blow.  Christ  in  his  own 
person  steps  between  the  stroke  and  us,  and  bore  that  a 
while  that  would  have  sunk  us  lor  ever.  Nos  immortalitate 
male  ttsi  sumus,  ut  moreremur;  Chrustus  mortalitate  bene  usus 
est,  ut  viveremus  (Aug.  de  doct.  Christ,  lib.  i.  cap.  14). 
We  abused  the  immortality  we  had,  to  our  death  ;  Christ 
used  the  mortality  he  had,  to  our  life.  Dilexit  nos,  he  loved 
us  ;  and  such  us,  that  were  his  utter  enemies.  Here  then 
was  love  -without  hmitation,  beyond  imitation.  Unspeak- 
able mercy,  says  Bernard,  that  the  King  of  eternal  glory 
should  yield  himself  to  be  crucified,  Pro  tarn  despicatissimo 
vernaculo,  immo  vermiculo  (Ser.  de  quadruplici  debito)  ;  for 
so  poor  a  wretch,  yea,  a  worm  ;  and  that  not  a  loving 
worm,  not  a  living  worm ;  for  we  both  hated  him  and  his, 
and  were  dead  in  sins  and  trespasses. 

Yea,  for  all  us,  mdefinitely ;  none  excepted  that  will  ap- 
prehend it  faithfully.  The  mixture  of  Moses'  perfume  is  thus 
sweetly  allegorized.  God  commands  him  to  put  in  so  much 
frankincense  as  galbanum,  and  so  much  galbanum  as  frankin- 
cense, Exod.  XXX.  34.  Christ's  sacrifice  was  so  sweetly  tem- 
pered :  as  much  blood  was  shed  for  the  peasant  in  the  field  as 
for  the  prince  in  the  court.  The  offer  of  salvation  is  general : 
"  whosoever  among  you  feareth  God,  and  worketh  righteous- 
ness, to  him  is  the  word  of  this  salvation  sent."  As  there  is  no 
exemption  of  the  greatest  from  misery,  so  no  exemption  of 
the  least  from  mercy.  He  that  will  not  beUeve  and  amend 
shall  be  condemned,  be  he  never  so  rich  ;  he  that  doth,  be 
he  never  so  poor,  shall  be  saved. 

This  one  point  of  the  crucifix,  for  m,  requires  more 
punctual  meditation.  Whatsoever  we  leave  unsaid,  we  must 
not  huddle  up  this.  For  indeed  this  brings  the  text  home 
to  us,  even  into  our  consciences,  and  speaks  effectually  to  us 
all :  to  me  that  speak,  and  to  you  that  hear,  with  that  pro- 
phet's application,  TTiou  art  the  man.  We  are  they  for 
whose  cause  our  blessed  Saviour  was  crucified.  For  us  he 
endured  tho^e  grievous  pangs  ;  for  us,  that  we  might  never 


60 


A  CRUCIFIX  ;  OR, 


taste  them.  Therefore  say  we  with  that  father,  Toto  nobis 
figatur  in  corde,  qui  lotus  -pro  nobis  fixus  in  cruce,  (Aug. 
de  sancta  -virg.  cap.  55)  ;  let  him  be  fixed  wholly  in  our 
hearts,  who  was  wholly  for  us  fastened  to  the  cross. 

We  shall  consider  the  uses  we  are  to  make  of  this  by  the 
ends  for  which  Christ  performed  this. 


1 .  To  save  us.  This  was  his  purpose  and  performance  :  all 
he  did,  all  he  suffered,  was  to  redeem  us.  "  By  his  stripes 
we  are  healed,"  Isa.  hii.  5.  By  his  sweat  we  refreshed;  by 
his  sorrows  we  rejoiced  ;  by  his  death  we  saved.  For  even 
that  day,  which  was  to  him.  Dies  luctus,  the  heaviest  day 
that  ever  man  bore,  was  to  us.  Dies  salutis,  "  the  accepted 
time,  the  day  of  salvation,"  2  Cor.  vi.  2.  The  day  was 
evil  in  respect  of  our  sins  and  his  sufferings  ;  but  eventually 
in  regard  of  what  he  paid,  and  what  he  purchased,  a  good 
day,  the  best  day,  a  day  of  joy  and  jubilation. 

But  if  this  salvation  be  wrought  for  us,  it  must  be  ap- 
plied to  us,  yea,  to  every  one  of  us.  For  that  some  re- 
ceive more  profit  by  his  passion  than  others,  is  not  his  fault 
that  did  undergo  it,  but  theirs  that  do  not  undertake  it ;  to 
apply  it  to  their  own  consciences.  We  must  not  only  be- 
lieve this  text  in  gross ;  but  let  every  one  take  a  handful 
out  of  this  sheaf,  and  put  it  into  his  own  bosom.  So  turn- 
ing this  fur  us  into  for  me.  As  Paul,  "  I  Uve  by  the  faith 
of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for  me," 
Gal.  ii.  20.  Blessed  faith,  that  into  the  plural  (us)  puts  in 
the  singular  soul,  me.  Se  dedit  pro  me.  Ever)-  one  is  a 
rebel,  guUty  and  convicted  by  the  supreme  law ;  death 
waits  to  arrest  us,  and  damnation  to  receive  us.  What 
should  we  do  but  pray,  beseech,  crj-,  weep,  till  we  can  get 
our  pardon  sealed  in  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ :  and  every 
one  find  a  sure  testimony  in  his  oivn  soul,  that  Christ  gave 
himself  for  me. 


It  serves  to 


us. 


A  SERMON  UPON  THK  PASSION.  61 

2.  Tliis  should  move  us.  Was  all  this  done  for  us,  and 
shall  we  not  be  stirred  ?  "  Have  ye  no  regard  ?  Is  it  no- 
thing to  you,  that  I  suffer  such  sorrow  as  was  never  suffered?" 
Lam.  i.  1  2.  All  his  agony,  his  cries,  and  tears,  and  groans, 
and  pangs,  were  for  us ;  shall  he  thus  grieve  for  us,  and 
shall  we  not  grieve  for  ourselves  ?  For  ourselves,  I  say  ;  not 
so  much  for  him.  Let  his  passion  move  us  to  compassion, 
not  of  his  sufferings  (alas  !  our  pity  can  do  him  no  good), 
but  of  our  sins  which  caused  them.  "  Daughters  of  Jerusa- 
lem, weep  not  for  me,  but  weep  for  yourselves,  and  for  your 
children,"  Luke  xxiii.  28.  For  ourselves  ;  not  for  his  pains 
that  are  past,  but  for  our  own  that  should  have  been,  and 
(except  our  faith  sets  him  in  our  stead)  shall  be.  Shall  he 
weep  to  us,  for  us,  and  shall  we  not  raoiu-n  ?  Shall  he 
drink  so  deeply  to  us  in  this  cup  of  sorrow,  and  shall  we 
not  pledge  him  ?  Doth  the  wrath  of  God  make  the  Son  of 
God  shriek  out,  and  shall  not  the  servants  for  whom  he 
suffered  tremble  ?  Oinnis  creatiira  compatitur  Christo  mo- 
rienti  (Hieron.  in  Math.)  Every  creature  seems  to  suffer 
with  Christ ;  sun,  earth,  rocks,  sepulchres  ;  solus  miser  homo 
nan  compatitur,  pro  quo  solo  Christus  patitur.  Only  man 
suffers  nothing,  for  whom  Christ  suffered  all.  Doth  his 
passion  tear  the  veil,  rend  the  stones,  cleave  the  rocks,  shake 
the  earth,  open  the  graves ;  and  are  our  hearts  more  hard 
than  those  insensible  creatures,  that  they  cannot  be  pene- 
trated ?  Doth  heaven  and  earth,  sun  and  elements,  suffer 
with  him,  and  is  it  notliing  to  us  ?  AVe,  wretched  men  that 
we  are,  that  were  the  principals  in  this  murder  of  Christ : 
whereas  Judas,  Caiaphas,  Pilate,  soldiers,  Jews,  were  all  but 
accessories  and  instrumental  causes.  We  may  seek  to  shift 
it  from  ourselves,  and  derive  this  heinous  fact  upon  the 
Jews  ;  but  the  executioner  doth  not  properly  kill  the  man. 
Solum  peccatum  homicida  est.  Sin,  our  sins,  were  the  mur- 
derers. Of  us  he  suffered,  and  for  us  he  suffered :  unite 
these  in  your  thoughts,  and  tell  me  if  his  passion  hath  not 
cause  to  move  us. 

And  yet  so  obdurate  are  our  hearts,  that  we  cannot  en- 
dure one  hour's  discourse  of  this  great  business.  Christ 


62 


A  CRUCIFIX  ;  OR, 


■was  many  hours  in  dying  for  us,  wc  cannot  sit  one  hour 
to  hear  of  it.  O  that  we  should  find  fault  with  heat 
or  cold  in  harkening  to  these  heavenly  mysteries  ;  when  he 
endured  for  us  such  a  heat,  such  a  sweat,  such  agony ;  that 
through  his  flesh  and  skin  he  sweat  drops  of  blood.  Doth 
he  weep  tears  of  gore-blood  for  us,  and  cannot  we  weep 
tears  of  water  for  ourselves  ?  Alas !  how  would  we  die  for 
him,  as  he  died  for  us,  when  we  are  weary  of  hearing  what 
he  did  for  us 

3.  This  should  mortify  us.  Christ  delivered  himself  to 
death  for  our  sins,  that  he  might  dehver  us  from  death  and 
our  sins.  He  came  not  only  to  destroy  the  devil,  but  to 
"  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil,"  1  John  iii.  8.  Neither 
doth  he  take  only  from  sin,  Damnandi  vim,  Rom.  viii.  1, 
the  power  to  condemn  us  ;  but  also,  Dominandi  vim,  Rom. 
vi.  6,  12,  the  power  to  rule  and  reign  in  us.  So  that 
Christ's  death,  as  it  answers  the  justice  of  God  for  our  mis- 
deeds, so  it  must  kill  in  us  the  will  of  misdoing.  Christ  in 
all  parts  suffered,  that  we  in  all  parts  might  be  mortified. 
His  sufferings  were  so  abundant,  that  men  cannot  know 
their  number,  nor  angels  their  nature,  neither  men  nor 
angels  their  measure.  His  passion  found  an  end,  our 
thoughts  cannot.  He 

r  At  all  times  ^ 
In  all  places 
Suffered  <  In  all  senses  >  All  for  us, 

In  all  members 
In  body  and  soul  also  J 

1.  At  all  times.  In  his  childhood  by  poverty  and  He- 
rod ;  in  the  strength  of  his  days  by  the  powers  of  earth, 
by  the  powers  of  hell,  yea,  even  by  the  powers  of  heaven. 
In  the  day  he  lacks  meat,  in  the  night  a  pillow.  Even  that 
holy  time  of  the  great  passover  is  destined  for  his  djing. 
When  they  should  kill  the  paschal  Lamb  in  thankfulness, 
they  slay  the  Lamb  of  God  in  wickedness.  They  admire 
the  shadow,  yet  condemn  the  substance.    All  for  us ;  that 


A  SERMON  UPON  THE  PASSION.  63 

all  times  might  yield  us  comfort.  So  the  apostle  sweetly, 
"  He  died  for  us,  that  whether  we  wake  or  sleep,  we  should 
live  together  with  him,"  1  Thess.  v.  10. 

2.  In  all  places.  In  the  cradle  by  that  fox  ;  in  the 
streets  by  revilers  ;  in  the  mountain  by  those  that  would  have 
thrown  him  down  headlong  ;  in  the  temple  by  them  that 
"  took  up  stones  to  cast  at  him,"  John  viii.  59.  In  the 
high  priest's  hall  by  buffeters,  in  the  garden  by  betrayers  ; 
b)-  the  way,  laden  with  bis  cross.  Lastly,  in  Calvary,  a  vile 
and  stinking  place,  among  the  bones  of  malefactors  cruci- 
fied. Still  aU  for  us,  that  in  all  places  the  mercy  of  God 
might  protect  us. 

3.  Ju  all  senses.  For  his  taste,  lo !  it  is  afflicted  with  gall 
and  vinegar — a  bitter  draught  for  a  dying  man !  His 
touch  felt  more  ;  the  nails  driven  into  his  hands  and  feet ; 
places  most  sensible  of  pain  ;  being  the  most  sinewy  parts 
of  the  body.  His  ears  are  full  of  the  blasphemous  contu- 
meUes  which  the  savage  multitude  belched  out  against  him. 
Not  him,  but  Barrabas,  they  cry  to  Pilate  ;  preferring  a 
murderer  before  a  Saviour.  Will  you  read  the  speeches 
objectual  to  his  hearing?  (See  Matth.  xxvii.  verses  29,  39, 
42,  44,  49.)  In  all,  consider  their  blasphemy,  his  patience. 
For  his  eyes,  whither  can  he  tm-n  them  without  spectacles 
of  sorrow  ?  The  despite  of  his  enemies  on  the  one  side, 
shewing  theii"  extremest  malice  ;  the  weeping  and  lamenting 
of  his  mother  on  the  other  side  ;  whose  tears  might  wound 
his  heart.  K  any  sense  were  less  afflicted,  it  was  his  smel- 
ling ;  and  yet  the  putrified  bones  of  Calvary  could  be  no 
pleasing  savour. 

Thus  suffered  all  his  senses.  That  taste  that  should  be 
delighted  with  the  wine  of  the  vineyard,  that  "  goeth  down 
sweetly"  (Cant.  vii.  9),  is  fed  with  vinegar.  He  looks  for 
good  grapes,  behold  "  sour  grapes"  (Isa.  v.  4) ;  he  ex- 
pects wine,  he  receives  vinegar.  That  smell  that  should  be 
refi-eshed  with  the  odoriferous  scent  of  the  "beds  of  spices" 
(Cant.  vi.  2),  the  piety  of  his  saints,  is  filled  with  the  stench 
of  iniquities.  Those  hands  that  sway  the  sceptre  of  the 
heavens,  are  fain  to  carry  the  reed  of  reproach,  and  endure 


64  A  CRUCIFIX  ;  OR, 

the  nails  of  death.  Those  eyes  that  were  as  a  "  flame  of 
fire"  (Rev,  i.  14),  in  respect  of  whom  the  verj-  sun  was 
darkness,  must  behold  the  afflicting  objects  of  shame  and 
tyranny.  Those  ears,  which  to  delight  the  high  choristers 
of  heaven,  sing  their  sweetest  notes,  must  be  wearied  with 
the  taunts  and  scoffs  of  blasphemy. 

And  all  this  for  us  ;  not  only  to  satisfy  those  sins  which 
our  senses  have  committed ;  but  to  mortify  those  senses, 
and  preserve  them  from  those  sins.  That  our  eyes  may  be 
no  more  full  of  adulteries,  nor  throw  covetous  looks  on  the 
goods  of  our  brethren.  That  our  ears  may  no  more  give 
so  wide  admission  and  welcome  entrance  to  lewd  reports,  the 
incantations  of  Satan.  That  sin  in  all  our  senses  might  be 
done  to  death  ;  the  poison  exhausted,  the  sense  purified. 

4.  In  all  members.  Look  on  that  blessed  body  con- 
ceived by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  born  of  a  pure  virgin  ;  it  is 
all  over  scourged,  martjTed,  tortured,  mangled.  What 
place  can  you  find  free  ?  Caput  Angelicis  spiritibus  tremebun- 
dum,  densitate  spinarum  pungitur  :  fades  pulchra  prat  filiis 
hominum,  Jiidaornm  sputb  deturpatur :  Ociili  lucidiores  sole, 
in  morte  caligantur,  Sf-c,  Bernard.  To  begin  at  his  head  ;  that 
head  which  the  angels  reverence,  is  crowned  with  thorns. 
That  face,  which  is  "  fairer  than  the  sons  of  men,"  Psal. 
xlv.  2,  must  be  odiously  spit  on  by  the  filthy  Jews.  His 
hands  that  made  the  heavens  are  extended  and  fastened 
to  a  cross.  The  feet  which  tread  upon  the  necks  of  his 
and  our  enemies,  feel  the  like  smart.  And  the  mouth 
must  be  buffeted  which  "  spake  as  never  man  spake,"  John 
vii.  46. 

Still  all  this  for  us.  His  head  bled  for  the  wicked  ima- 
ginations of  our  heads.  His  face  was  besmeared  with  spittle, 
because  we  had  spit  impudent  blasphemies  against  heaven. 
His  lips  were  afflicted,  that  our  lips  might  henceforth  jield 
savoury  speeches.  His  feet  did  bleed,  that  our  feet  might 
not  be  swifl  to  shed  blood.  All  his  members  suffered  for 
the  sins  of  all  our  members,  and  that  our  members  might 
be  no  more  servants  to  sin,  but  "  servants  to  righteousness 
unto  holiness,"  Rom.  ^^.  19.    Conspui  voluU,  ut  nos  lauaret: 


A  SERMON  UPON  THE  PASSION.  65 

pelari  voluit,  ut  velamen  ignorantice  a  mentibus  nostris  mifer- 
ret :  in  capite  percuti,  utcorpori  sanitatem  restilueret,  Hieron. 
He  would  be  polluted  with  their  spittle,  that  he  might  wash 
us  ;  he  would  be  bhndfolded,  that  he  might  take  the  vail 
of  ignorance  from  our  eyes.  He  suffered  the  head  to  be 
wovnided,  that  he  might  renew  health  to  all  the  body. 

Six  times  we  read  that  Christ  shed  his  blood  ;  1.  AVheu 
he  was  circumcised  ;  at  eight  days  old  his  blood  was  spilt. 
2.  In  his  agony  in  the  garden,  where  he  sweat  drops  of 
blood.  3.  In  his  scourging,  when  the  merciless  tormentors 
fetched  blood  from  his  holy  sides.  4.  When  he  was  crowned 
with  thorns  ;  those  sharp  prickles  raked  and  harrowed  his 
blessed  head,  and  drew  forth  blood.  5.  In  his  crucifying, 
when  his  hands  and  feet  were  pierced,  blood  gushed  out. 
6.  Lastly,  after  his  death,  "  one  of  the  soldiers  with  a 
spear  pierced  his  side,  and  forthwith  came  there  out  blood 
and  water,"  John  xix.  34.  AH  his  members  bled,  to  shew 
that  he  bled  for  all  his  members.  Not  one  drop  of  this 
blood  was  shed  for  himself,  all  for  us  ;  for  his  enemies,  per- 
secutors, crucifiers,  ourselves.  But  what  shall  become  of  us, 
if  all  this  cannot  mortify  us?  "  How  shall  we  live  with 
Christ,  if  with  Christ  we  be  not  dead  ?"  Rom.  vi.  8.  Dead 
in  deed  unto  sin,  but  living  unto  righteousness.  As  Ehsha 
revived  the  Shunamite's  child  :  "  He  lay  upon  it ;  put  his 
mouth  upon  the  child's  mouth,  and  his  eyes  upon  his  eyes, 
and  his  hands  upon  his  hands,  and  stretched  himself  upon 
the  child,  and  the  flesh  of  the  child  waxed  warm,"  2  Kings 
iv.  34.  So  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  recover  us  that  were  dead 
in  our  sins  and  trespasses,  spreads  and  applies  his  whole 
passion  to  us  ;  lays  his  mouth  of  blessing  upon  our  mouth 
of  blasphemy  ;  his  eyes  of  holiness  upon  our  eyes  of  lust ; 
his  hands  of  mercy  upon  our  hands  of  cruelty  ;  and  stretcheth 
his  gracious  self  upon  our  wretched  selves,  till  we  begin  to 
wax  warm,  to  get  life,  and  the  holy  Spirit  returns  into  us. 

5.  In  his  sold.  All  this  was  but  the  outside  of  his  pas- 
sion ;  "  Now  is  my  soul  troubled,  and  what  shall  I  say? 
Father  save  me  from  this  hour ;  but  for  this  cause  came  I 
E 


66  A  CRUCIFIX  ;  OR, 

unto  this  hour,"  John  xii.  27.  The  pain  of  the  body  ia 
but  the  body  of  pain  ;  the  very  soul  of  sorrow  is  the  sorrow 
of  the  soul.  All  the  outward  afflictions  were  but  gentle 
prickings  in  regard  of  that  his  soul  suffered.  "  The  spirit 
of  a  man  will  sustain  his  infirmity ;  but  a  wounded  spirit 
who  can  bear  ?  "  Prov.  xviii.  1 4.  He  had  a  heart  within 
that  suffered  unseen,  unknown  anguish.  This  pain  drew 
those  strong  cries,  those  bitter  tears,  Heb.  v.  7.  He  had 
often  sent  forth  the  cries  of  compassion  ;  of  passion  and  com- 
plaint not  till  now.  He  had  wept  the  tears  of  pity,  the 
tears  of  love,  but  never  before  the  tears  of  anguish.  'WTien 
the  Son  of  God  thus  cries,  thus  weeps,  here  is  more  than 
the  body  distressed ;  the  soul  is  agonized. 

Still  all  this  for  tis.  His  soul  was  in  our  soul's  stead  ; 
what  would  they  have  felt,  if  they  had  been  in  the  stead  of 
his  ?  All  for  us  ;  to  satisfaction,  to  emendation.  For  thy 
drunkenness  and  pouring  down  strong  diinks,  he  drunk 
vinegar.  For  thy  intemperate  gluttony  he  fasted.  For  thy 
sloth,  he  did  exercise  himself  to  continual  pains.  Thou 
sleepest  secure,  thy  Saviour  is  then  waking,  watching,  pray- 
ing. Thy  arms  are  inured  to  lustful  embracings ;  he  for 
this  embraceth  the  rough  cross.  Thou  deckest  thyself  with 
proud  habiliments,  he  is  humble  and  lowly  for  it.  Thou 
ridest  in  pomp,  he  journeys  on  foot.  Thou  wallowest  on 
thy  down  beds,  thy  Saviour  hath  not  a  pillow.  Thou  sur- 
feitest,  and  he  sweats  it  out,  a  bloody  sweat.  Thou  fillest 
and  swellest  thyself  with  a  pleurisy  of  wickedness.  Behold 
incision  is  made  in  the  Head  for  thee  ;  thy  Saviour  bleeds  to 
death.  Now  judge  whether  this  point  (for  us)  hath  not 
derived  a  near  application  of  this  text  to  our  own  con- 
sciences. Since  then  Christ  did  all  this  for  thee  and  me ; 
pray  then  with  Augustine,  0  domine  Jesu,  da  cordi  meo  te 
desiderare,  desiderando  quoerere,  qucerendo  invenire,  inve- 
niendo  amare,  amando  mala  mea  redempta  non  iterare,  Medit. 
cap.  1  :  Lord  give  me  a  heart  to  desire  thee,  desiring  to 
seek  thee,  seeking  to  find  thee,  finding  to  love  thee,  loving, 
no  more  to  offend  thee. 


A  SERMON  UPON  THK  PASSION. 


67 


There  are  two  main  parts  of  this  Crucifix  yet  to  handle. 
I  must  only  name  them,  being  sorry  that  it  is  still  my  hap 
to  trouble  you  with  prolixity  of  speech. 

6.  The  next  is  the  Manner ;  an  offering  and  sacrifice. 
His  whole  life  was  an  effering,  his  death  a  sacrifice.  He 
gave  himself  often  for  us  an  eucharistical  oblation,  once  an 
expiatory  sacrifice.  In  the  former  he  did  for  us  all  that  we 
should  do  ;  in  the  latter  he  suffered  for  us  all  that  we  should 
suffer.  "  WTio  his  own  self  bare  our  sins  in  his  own  body 
on  the  tree,"  1  Pet  ii.  24.  Some  of  the  Hebrews  have 
afSrmed,  that  in  the  fire  which  consumed  the  legal  sacri- 
fices, there  always  appeared  the  face  of  a  lion  (Paul.  Ta- 
gius,  cap.  4.)  "Which  mystery  they  thus  resolve,  that  the 
Lion  of  Judah  should  "one  day  give  himself  for  us,  a  perfect 
expiatory  sacrifice.  Thus,  "  once  in  the  end  of  the  world 
hath  he  appeared  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  him- 
self" Heb.  ix.  26. 

7.  The  last  point  is  the  Effect:  Of  a  sweet  smelling  sa- 
vour. Here  is  the  fruit  and  efficacy  of  all.  Never  was  the 
Lord  pleased  with  sinful  man  till  now.  Were  he  never  so 
angry,  here  is  a  pacification,  a  sweet  savour.  If  the  whole 
world  were  quintessenced  into  one  perfume,  it  could  not 
yield  so  fragrant  a  smell.  We  are  all  of  ourselves  putida 
et  putrida  cadavera,  dead  and  stinking  carcases.  The  pure 
nostrils  of  the  Most  Holy  cannot  endure  us  :  behold  the  per- 
frime  that  sweetens  us,  the  redeeming  blood  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.  This  so  fills  him  with  a  delightful  scent,  that  he 
will  not  smell  our  noisome  wickedness. 

Let  me  leave  you  with  this  comfort  in  your  bosoms. 
How  unsavoury  soever  our  own  sins  have  made  us,  yet  if 
our  hand  of  faith  lay  hold  on  this  Saviour's  censer,  God 
will  scent  none  of  our  corruptions  ;  but  we  shall  smell 
sweetly  in  his  nostrils.  Bernard  for  all.  O  dear  Jesus : 
Mori  debemus,  et  tu  solvis  :  nos  peccavimus,  et  tic  luis.  Opiis 
sine  exemplo,  gratia  sine  merito,  charitas  sine  modo.  We 
should  die,  and  thou  payest  it,  we  have  offended,  and  thou 
art  punished.    A  mercy  without  example,  a  favour  without 


68     A  CRUCIFIX  ;  OR  A  SERMON  UPON  THE  PASSION 

merit,  a  love  without  measure.  Therefore  I  conclude  my 
sermon,  as  we  all  shut  up  our  prayers,  with  this  one  clause, 
Through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  O  Father  of  mercy,  ac- 
cept our  sacrifice  of  prayer  and  praise,  for  his  sacrifice  of 
pain  and  merit ;  even  for  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ's  sake  !  To 
whom,  with  the  Father  and  blessed  Spirit,  be  aU  glory,  for 
ever.  Amen. 


SEMPER  IDEM; 


THE  IMMUTABLE  MERCT  OF  JESUS  CHRIST. 


■  Jeius  Obrlat,  the  suae  yesterday,  anl  to-da;.  and  for  ever."— M,  xUL  8. 


SEMPER  IDEM; 


THE  IMMUTABLE  MERCY  OP  JESCS  OHKIST. 


■  Jcius  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  for  e 


By  the  name  of  Jehovah  was  God  known  to  Israel ;  from 
the  time  of  the  first  mission  of  Moses  to  them,  and  their 
manumission  out  of  Egypt,  and  not  before.  For  saith  God 
to  Moses,  "  I  appeared  unto  Abraham,  and  unto  Isaac,  and 
imto  Jacob,  by  the  name  of  God  Almighty  ;  but  by  my 
name  Jehovah  was  I  not  known  to  them,"  Exod.  vi.  3. 
This  (I  am)  is  an  eternal  word,  comprehending  three  times  ; 
"  that  was,  that  is,  and  is  to  come." 

Now,  to  testify  the  equality  of  the  Son  to  the  Father,  the 
Scripture  gives  the  same  eternity  to  Jesus  that  it  doth  to 
Jehovah.  He  is  called  Alpha  and  Omega,  primus  et  non- 
issimus,  "  the  First  and  the  Last :  which  is,  which  was,  and 
which  is  to  come,"  Rev.  i. ;  and  here,  "  the  same  yesterday, 
and  to-day,  and  for  ever."  Therefore  he  was  not  only 
Christus  Dei,  the  anointed  of  God,  but  Christus  De^is,  God 
himself  anointed.  Seeing  that  eternity,  which  hath  neither 
beginning  nor  ending,  is  only  peculiar  and  proper  to  God. 

f  Centre 

The  words  may  be  distinguished  into  a  -<  Circumference 
(Mediate 

line,  referring  the  one  to  the  other :  The  immovable  centre 
is  Jesus  Christ.    The  circiunference  that  runs  round  about 


72  SEMPER  IDEM  ;  OR, 

him  here  is  eternity :  "  Yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever." 
The  mediate  line  referring  them  is,  i  *'vr*f,  the  same.  "  Jesus 
Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  for  ever." 

The  Centre  is  Jesus  Christ. 
Jesus  was  his  proper  name,  Christ  his  appellative.  Jesus 
a  name  of  his  nature,  Christ  of  his  office  and  dignity  ;  as 
divines  speak. 

Jesus  a  name  of  all  sweetness.  Mel  in  ore,  melos  in 
aure,  jubilus  in  corde,  (Ber.  in  Can.)  :  (Honey  in  the  mouth, 
a  song  in  the  ear,  a  jubilee  in  the  heart.)  A  reconciler,  a 
Redeemer,  a  Saviour.  When  the  conscience  wrestles  with 
law,  sin,  death,  there  is  nothing  but  horror  and  despair  with- 
out Jesus.  He  is  "  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life  ;"  with- 
out him,  error,  mendacium,  mors:  (Error,  lie,  death.)  Si 
scribas,  non  placet,  nisi  legam  ibi,  Jesum,  saith  Bernard : 
K  thou  writest  to  me,  thy  letter  doth  not  please  me,  unless 
I  read  there  Jesus.  If  thou  conferrest,  thy  discourse  is  not 
sweet,  without  the  name  of  Jesus.  The  blessed  restorer 
of  all,  of  more  than  all  that  Adam  lost ;  for  we  have  gotten 
more  by  his  regenerating  grace  than  we  lost  by  Adam's 
degenerating  sin. 

Christ  is  the  name  of  his  office  ;  being  appointed  and 
anointed  of  God  a  king,  a  priest,  a  prophet. 

This  Jesus  Christ  is  our  Saviour  :  of  whose  names  I  for- 
bear further  discoiu-se,  being  imable,  though  I  had  the 
tongue  of  angels,  to  speak  ought  worthy  tanto  nomine,  tanto 
numine.  All  that  can  be  said  is  but  a  little  ;  but  I  must 
say  but  a  little  in  all.  But  of  all  names  given  to  our  Re- 
deemer, still  Jesus  is  the  sweetest.  Other,  saith  Bernard, 
are  names  of  majesty;  Jesus  is  a  name  of  mercy.  The  AVord 
of  God,  the  Son  of  God,  the  Christ  of  God,  are  titles  of 
glory  ;  Jesus  a  Saviour,  is  a  title  of  grace,  mercy,  redemp- 
tion. 

This  Jesus  Christ  is  the  centre  of  this  text ;  and  not  only 
of  this,  but  of  the  whole  Scripture.  The  sum  of  divinit}-  is 
the  Scripture  ;  the  sum  of  the  Scripture  is  the  gospel ;  the 
sum  of  the  gospel  is  Jesus  Clirist ;  in  a  word,  ?ii7«7  continet 


THE  IMMUTABLE  MERCY  OF  JKSrs  CIIItlST.  73 

verbum  Dumini,  nisi  verlum  Dominum.  There  is  nothing 
contained  in  the  word  of  God,  but  God  the  word. 

Nor  is  he  the  centre  only  of  his  word,  but  of  our  rest  and 
peace.  "  I  determined  not  to  know  any  thing  among  you, 
snve  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified.  Thou  hast  made  us 
for  thee,  O  Christ ;  and  our  heart  is  unquiet  till  it  rest  in 
thee,"  1  Cor.  ii.  2.  It  is  natural  to  everj-  thing  appeiere 
cciitnwi,  to  desire  the  centre.  But  "  our  life  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God,"  Col.  iii.  3.  We  must  needs  amare,  where 
wo  must  ammare.  Our  mind  is  where  our  pleasure  is,  our 
heart  is  where  our  treasure  is,  our  love  is  where  our  life  is  ; 
but  all  these,  our  pleasure,  treasure,  life,  are  reposed  in 
Jesus  Christ.  "  Thou  art  my  portion,  O  Lord,"  saith 
David.  Take  the  world  that  please,  let  our  portion  be 
Christ.  "  We  have  left  all,"  saith  Peter,  "  and  followed 
thee,"  Matth.  xix.  27  ;  you  have  lost  nothing  by  it,  saith 
Christ,  for  you  have  gotten  me.  Nimus  avarus  est,  cui  non 
sufficit  Christus.  He  is  too  covetous,  whom  Jesus  Christ  can- 
not satisfy.  Let  us  seek  this  centre,  saith  Augustine,  in 
Johan.  :  Quwramus  inveniendum,  quceramus  inventum.  Ut  in- 
veniendus  quxratur,  paratus  est:  ut  inventus  qumratur,  im- 
mensus  est :  Let  us  seek  him  till  we  have  found  him  ;  and 
still  seek  him  when  we  have  found  him.  That  seeking  we 
may  find  him,  he  is  ready  ;  that  finding,  we  may  seek  him, 
he  is  infinite.    You  see  the  centre. 

The  referring  line  proper  to  this  centre  is  semper  idem, 
(always  the  same). 

Hie  same.  There  is  no  mutability  in  Christ ,  "  no  varia- 
bleness, nor  shadow  of  turning,"  Jam.  i.  17.  All  lower 
lights  have  their  inconstancy  ;  but  in  the  Father  of  lights 
there  is  no  changeableness.  The  sun  hath  his  shadow ;  the 
"  Sun  of  righteousness  is  without  shadow,"  Mai.  iv.  2  ; 
that  turns  upon  the  dial,  but  Chi-ist  hath  no  turning. 
"  AVhom  he  loves,  he  loves  to  the  end,"  John  xiii.  1.  He 
loves  us  to  the  end  ;  of  his  love  there  is  no  end.  Tempus 
erit  consumrnanJi,  nullus  consumendi  misericordiam.  His 
mercy  shall  be  perfected  m,  us,  never  ended.  "  In  a  little 
wrath  I  hid  my  face  from  thee,  for  a  moment ;  but  with 


74  SEMPER  IDEM  ;  OK, 

everlasting  kindness  will  I  have  mercy  upon  tbee,  saith  the 
Lord  thy  Redeemer,"  Isa.  liv.  8.  His  wrath  is  short,  his 
goodness  is  everlasting.  "  The  mountains  shall  depart,  and 
the  hills  be  removed ;  but  my  kindness  shall  not  depart 
from  thee,  neither  shall  the  covenant  of  my  peace  be  re- 
moved, saith  the  Lord  that  hath  mercy  on  thee,"  verse  10. 
The  mountains  are  stable  things,  the  hills  stedfast ;  yet 
hills,  mountains,  yea  the  whole  earth,  shall  totter  on  the 
foundations  ;  yea  the  very  "  heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a 
noise,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  heat,"  2  Pet.  iii.  10  ; 
but  the  covenant  of  God  shall  not  be  broken.  "  I  will  be- 
troth thee  unto  me  for  ever,"  Hos.  ii.  19,  saith  God.  This 
marriage-bond  shall  never  be  cancelled ;  nor  sin,  nor  death, 
nor  heU,  shall  be  able  to  divorce  us.  Six-and-twenty  times 
in  one  psalm  that  sweet  singer  chaunts  it ;  "  His  mercy 
endureth  for  ever,"  Psalm  cxxxvi.  Jesus  Christ  the  same 
yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  for  ever. 

As  this  meditation  distils  into  our  believing  hearts  much 
comfort,  so  let  it  give  us  some  instructions.  Two  things  it 
readily  teacheth  us : 


Dissuasive  caution. 
Persuasive  lesson. 


1.  It  dissuades  our  confidence  in  worldly  things,  because 
they  are  inconstant.  How  poor  a  space  do  they  remain, 
Ti  aura,  the  same.  To  prove  this,  you  have  in  the  first  of 
Judges,  verse  7,  a  jury  of  threescore  and  ten  kings  to  take 
their  oaths  upon  it.  Every  one  had  his  throne,  yet  there 
they  lick  up  crumbs  imder  another  king's  table ;  and  short- 
ly even  this  king,  that  made  them  all  so  miserable,  is  made 
himself  most  miserable.  Solomon  compares  wealth  to  a 
■wild  fowl.  "  Riches  make  themselves  wings,  they  fly  away 
as  an  eagle  toward  heaven,"  Prov.  xxiii.  5.  Not  some 
tame  house  bird,  or  a  hawk  that  may  be  fetched  down  with 
a  lure,  or  found  again  by  her  bells  ;  but  an  eagle,  that  \io- 
lently  cuts  the  air,  and  is  gone  past  recallflig. 

Wealth  is  like  a  bird  ;  it  hops  all  day  from  man  to  man, 


THE  IMMUTABLE  MEECY  OF  JESUS  CHRIST.  75 

as  that  doth  from  tree  to  tree  ;  and  none  can  say  where  it 
■will  roust  or  rest  at  night.  It  is  like  a  vagrant  fellow, 
which  because  he  is  big-boned,  and  able  to  work,  a  man 
takes  in  a-doors,  and  cherisheth  ;  and  perhaps  for  a  while 
lie  takes  pains ;  but  when  he  spies  opportunity,  the  fugitive 
servant  is  gone,  and  takes  away  more  with  him  than  all  his 
service  came  to.  The  world  may  seem  to  stand  thee  in 
some  stead  for  a  season,  but  at  last  it  irrevocably  runs  away, 
and  carries  with  it  thy  joys ;  thy  goods,  as  Rachael  stole 
Laban's  idols ;  thy  peace  and  content  of  heart  goes  with  it, 
and  thou  art  left  desperate. 

You  see  how  quickly  riches  cease  to  be  the  same :  and 
can  any  other  earthly  thing  boast  more  stability  ?  Honour 
must  put  off  the  robes  when  the  play  is  done  ;  make  it  never 
so  glorious  a  show  on  this  world's  stage  ;  it  hath  but  a  short 
part  to  act.  A  great  name  of  worldly  glory  is  but  hke  a 
peal  rung  on  the  bells ;  the  common  people  are  the  clap- 
pers ;  the  rope  that  moves  them  is  popularity ;  if  you  once 
let  go  your  hold  and  leave  pulling,  the  clapper  lies  still, 
and  farewell  honour.  Strength  though,  like  Jeroboam 
(1  Kings  xiii.  4),  it  put  forth  the  arm  of  oppression,  shall 
soon  fall  down  withered.  Beauty  is  like  an  almanack  :  if  it 
last  a  year,  it  is  well.  Pleasure  like  lightning :  oritur, 
moritur ;  sweet,  but  short ;  a  flash  and  away. 

All  vanities  are  but  butterflies,  which  wanton  children 
greedily  catCh  for ;  and  sometimes  they  fly  besides  them, 
sometimes  before  them,  sometimes  behind  them,  sometimes 
close  by  them ;  yea  through  their  fingers,  and  yet  they  miss 
them  ;  and  when  they  have  them,  they  are  but  buttei-flies  ; 
they  have  painted  wings,  but  are  crude  and  squalid  worms, 
(Anselm.  Meditat.)  Such  are  the  things  of  this  world, 
vanities,  butterflies.  Vel  sequendo  labimur,  vel  assequendo 
Icediimtr :  (which  when  we  pursue  we  fall,  or  when  we  over- 
take are  hurt.)  The  world  itself  is  not  unlike  an  artichoke  ; 
nine  parts  of  it  are  unprofitable  leaves,  scarce  the  tithe  is 
good :  about  it  there  is  a  httle  picking  meat,  nothing  so 
wholesome  as  dainty :  in  the  midst  of  it  there  is  a  core, 
which  is  enough  to  choke  them  that  devour  it. 


7  6  SEMPER  IDEM  ;  OR, 

0  then  set  not  your  hearts  upon  these  things :  calcanda 
sunt,  as  Jerome  observes  on  Acts  iv.  "  They  that  sold 
their  possessions,  brought  the  prices,  and  laid  them  down  at 
the  Apostles'  feet,"  Acts  iv.  35.  At  their  feet,  not  at  their 
hearts  ;  they  are  fitter  to  be  trodden  under  feet,  than  to  be 
waited  on  with  hearts.  I  conclude  this  with  Augustine. 
Ecce  turbat  muridiis,  et  amatur:  quid  si  trariquillus  asset t 
Formoso  quomodo  hcereres,  qui  sic  ampkcteris  foedum  ?  Fbres 
ejus  quam  colligeres,  qui  sic  a  spinis  non  revocas  manum? 
Quam  conjideres  ceterno,  qui  sic  adhmres  caduco  ?  Behold, 
the  world  is  turbulent  and  full  of  vexation,  yet  it  is  loved ; 
how  would  it  be  embraced  if  it  were  calm  and  quiet  ?  If  it 
were  a  beauteous  damsel,  how  would  they  dote  on  it,  that 
BO  kiss  it  being  a  deformed  stigmatic  ?  How  greedily  would 
they  gather  the  flowers,  who  would  not  forbear  the  thorns  ? 
They  that  so  admire  it  being  transient  and  temporal,  how 
would  they  be  enamoured  on  it  if  it  were  eternal  ?  But 
"  the  world  passeth,"  1  John  ii.  17,  and  God  abideth. 
"  They  shall  perish,  but  thou  remainest :  they  all  shall  wax 
old  as  doth  a  garment :  and  as  a  vesture  shalt  thou  fold 
them  up,  and  they  shall  be  changed  :  but  thou  art  the  same, 
and  thy  years  shall  not  fail,"  Heb.  i.  11,  12.  Tlierefore, 
"  trust  not  in  uncertain  riches,  but  in  the  living  God," 
1  Tim.  \i.  17.  And  then,  "  they  that  trust  in  the  Lord 
shall  be  as  Mount  Sion,  which  cannot  be  removed,  but 
abideth  for  ever,"  Psal.  cxxv.  1.  Jeszts  Christ,  the  same 
yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  for  ever. 

2.  This  persuades  us  to  an  imitation  of  Christ's  con- 
stancy. Let  the  stableness  of  his  mercy  to  us  work  a  sta- 
bleness  of  our  love  to  him.  And  howsoever,  like  the  lower 
orbs,  we  have  a  natural  motion  of  our  own  from  good  to 
e\'il,  yet  let  us  suffer  the  higher  power  to  move  us  supema- 
turally  from  evil  to  good.  There  is  in  us  indeed  a  reluctant 
llesh,  "  a  law  in  our  members  warring  against  the  law  of 
our  mind,"  Rom.  vii.  23.  So  Augustine  confesseth  :  iVcc 
plane  nolebam,  nec  plane  volebam.  And,  Ego  eram  qui  voleham, 
ego  qui  nolebam  (Confess,  lib.  viii.  cap.  10.)  I  neither  fully 
granted  nor  plainly  denied  ;  and  it  was  I  myself  that  both 


THE  IMMUTABLE  SIKUCY  OF  JESUS  CHRIST. 


would  and  ■would  not.  But  our  ripeness  of  Christianity 
must  overgrow  fluctuant  thoughts. 

LTCsolution  and  unsteadiness  is  hateful,  and  unlike  to  our 
master  Christ,  who  is  ever  the  same.  "A  double-minded 
man  is  unstable  in  all  his  ways,"  James  i.  8.  The  incon- 
stant man  is  a  stranger  in  his  own  house :  all  his  purposes 
are  but  guests,  his  heart  is  the  inn.  If  they  lodge  there  for 
a  night,  it  is  all ;  they  are  gone  in  the  morning.  Many 
motions  come  crowding  together  upon  him  ;  and  like  a  great 
press  at  a  narrow  door,  wliilst  all  strive,  none  enter.  The 
epigrammatist  wittily,  (Martial,  Epig.  Ub.  3) : 

Omnia  cum  facias,  miraris  cur  facias  nil: 
Posthumc,  rem  solam  qui  facit,  ille  facit : 

(When  thou  attemptest  all  things,  why  wonder  that  no- 
thing is  done?   lie  only  succeeds  who  attends  to  one  thing). 

He  that  will  have  an  oar  for  every  man's  boat,  shall  have 
none  left  to  row  his  own.  They,  saith  Melancthon,  that  will 
know  aliquid  in  omnibus,  (something  of  every  thing),  shall 
indeed  know  nihil  in  toto,  (master  nothing.)  Their  admi- 
ration or  dotage  of  a  thing  is  extreme  for  the  time,  but  it 
is  a  wonder  if  it  out-live  the  .age  of  a  wonder,  which  is  al- 
lowed but  nine  days.  They  arc  angry  ^^^th  time,  and  say 
the  times  are  dead,  because  they  jiroduce  no  more  Innova- 
tions. Their  inquiry  of  all  things  is  not  quam  honum  (whe- 
ther it  be  good),  but  quam  novum  (whether  it  be  new.) 
They  are  almost  weary  of  the  sun  for  continual  shining. 
Continuance  is  a  suflicient  quaiTcl  against  the  best  things  ; 
and  the  manna  of  heaven  is  loathed  because  it  is  common. 

This  is  not  to  be  always  the  same,  but  never  the  same  ; 
and  whilst  they  would  be  every  thing,  they  are  nothing  : 
but  hke  the  worm  Pliny  writes  of,  multipoda,  that  hath  many 
feet,  yet  is  of  slow  pace.  Awhile  you  shall  have  him  in 
England,  loving  the  simple  truth  ;  anon  in  Rome,  grovelling 
before  an  image.  Soon  after  he  leaps  to  Amsterdam  ;  and 
yet  must  he  still  be  turning,  till  there  be  nothing  left  but  to 
turn  Turk.    To  mnter  an  opinion  is  too  tedious  ;  he  hath 


78  8KMPER  IDEM  ;  OR, 

been  many  things.  WTiat  he  will  be,  you  shall  scarce  know 
till  he  is  nothing. 

But  the  God  of  constancy  would  have  his  to  be  constant. 
Stedfast  in  your  faitli  to  him.  "  Continue  in  the  faith, 
grounded  and  settled,  and  be  not  moved  away  from  the 
hope  of  the  gospel,"  Colos.  i.  23.  Stedfast  in  your  faith- 
fulness to  man,  promising  and  not  disappointing  (Psalm  xv. 
4.)  Do  not  aliud  stantes,  aliud  sedentes,  lest  your  changing 
with  God  teach  God  to  change  with  you.  Nemo  potest  tibi 
Christum  auferre,  nisi  te  illi  auferas  (Ambr.  in  luc.  hb.  5). 
No  man  can  turn  Christ  from  thee,  unless  thou  turn  thy- 
self from  Chiist.  Por  "  Jesus  Christ  the  same  yesterday," 
&c. 

AVe  come  now  to  the  circumference,  wherein  is  a  distinc- 
tion of  three  times  :  past,  present,  future.  Tempora  mu- 
tantur :  the  times  change,  the  circumference  wheels  about, 
but  the  centre  is  the  same  for  ever. 

AVe  must  resolve  this  triplicity  into  a  triphcity.  Christ 
is  the  same  according  to  these  three  distinct  terms,  three 
distmet  ways  : — 


Objective,  in  his  "Word. 
Subjective,  in  his  Power. 
Effective,  in  his  gracious  operation. 


Objectively, 

T       /-II  •  1  •  it  •    ( Yesterday  in  Preordination. 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  same  m  )  „    ,  . 

, .        J      J  i.  i         -<  To-day  m  Incarnation. 

his  word:  and  that         J  „  ■    4  v 

'  (For  ever  m  Appbcation. 

Yesterday  in  Preordination. 
So  St  Peter,  in  his  sermon,  tells  the  Jews,  that  "  he 
was  delivered  by  the  determinate  counsel  and  foreknowledge 
of  God,"  Acts  ii.  23.  And  in  his  epistle,  that  "  he  was 
verily  preordained  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,"  1 
Pet.  i.  20.  lie  is  called  the  "  Lamb  slain  from  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world,"  Rev.  xiii.  8.  Priiis profuit,  quam /nil. 
His  prophets  did  fortell  him,  the  t^-pes  did  prefigure  him, 


THE  IMMUTABLE  MERCY  OF  JESUS  CHRIST.  79 

God  himself  did  promise  him.  Ratus  ordo  Dei :  the  decree 
of  God  is  constant. 

Much  comfort  I  must  here  leave  to  your  meditation.  If 
God  preordained  a  Saviour  for  man,  before  he  had  either 
made  man,  or  man  marred  himself,  as  Paul  to  Timothy, 
"  He  hath  saved  us  according  to  his  own  purpose  and 
giMce,  which  was  given  us  in  Christ  Jesus  before  the  world 
began,"  2  Tim.  i.  9  ;  then  surely  he  meant  that  nothing 
should  separate  us  from  his  eternal  love  in  that  Saviour, 
Kom.  viii.  39.  Quos  elegit  ijicreatos,  rcdemit  perditos,  non 
deseret  redemptos.  Whom  he  chose  before  they  were  created, 
and  when  they  were  lost  redeemed,  lie  will  not  forsake  being 
sanctified. 

To-day  in  Incarnation. 

"  When  the  fulness  of  time  was  come,  God  sent  forth  his 
Son  made  of  a  woman,"  Gal.  iv.  4.  "  The  Word  was 
made  flesh,"  John  i.  14  ;  which  was,  saith  Emissenus,  (In 
Hom.  2,  de  Nat.  Christ.)  :  Non  dcposita,  sed  seposita  majes- 
tate:  (Not  resigning  his  majest)-,  but  laWngit  aside  for  a  time). 
Thus  he  became  younger  than  his  mother,  that  is  as  eter- 
nal as  his  Father.  He  was  yesterday  God  before  all  worlds, 
he  is  now  made  man  in  the  world.  Sa7iguiiicm,  quern  pro 
matre  obtulit,  anlea  de  sangidne  matris  accepit  (Euseb.  Emiss. 
ubi  supra.)  The  blood  that  he  shed  for  his  mother,  he  had 
from  his  mother.  The  same  Eusebius,  on  the  ninth  of 
Isaiah,  acutely,  "  Unto  us  a  child  is  bom,  unto  us  a  son  is 
given,"  Isaiah  ix.  6.  He  was  Datus  ex  Divinitate,  natus  ex 
virgine.  Datus  est  qui  erat ;  natus  est  qui  non  erat.  He 
was  given  of  the  Deity,  born  of  the  Virgin.  He  that  was 
given,  was  before ;  he  as  bom,  was  not  before.  Donum. 
dedit  Deus  cequale  sibi :  God  gave  a  gift  equal  to  himself. 

So  he  is  the  same  yesterday  and  to-day,  objectively  in  his 
word.  Idem  qui  velatus  in  veteri,  revelatus  in  novo.  In  illo 
prcedictus,  in  isto  prcedicatus :  (He  who  was  veiled  in  the 
Old,  is  revealed  in  the  New  Testament ;  in  the  former  pre- 
dicted, in  the  latter  preached.)  Yesterday  prefigured  in 
'ha  law,  to-day  the  same  manifested  in  the  gospel. 


80 


SEMFKR  IDEM  ;  OR, 


For  ever  in  Operation. 
He  doth  contmually  by  bis  Spirit  apply  to  our  consciences 
the  virtue  of  his  death  and  passion.  "  As  many  as  receive 
him,  to  them  gives  be  powor  to  become  the  sons  of  God, 
even  to  them  that  believe  on  bis  name,"  John  i.  12.  "  By 
one  offering  be  bath  perfected  for  ever  them  that  are  sanc- 
tified," Heb.  X.  14.  Tliis  is  sure  comfort  to  us,  though  be 
died  almost  1629  years  ago;  bb  blood  is  not  yet  dry.  His 
■wounds  are  as  fresh  to  do  us  good  as  they  were  to  those 
saints  that  beheld  them  bleeding  on  the  cross.  The  virtue 
of  bis  merits  is  not  abated,  tliougb  many  bands  of  faith  have 
taken  large  portions  out  of  his  treasurj-.  The  river  of  bis 
grace,  which  makes  glad  the  city  of  God,  runs  over  the 
banks,  though  infinite  souls  have  drank  hearty  draughts, 
and  satisfied  their  thirst.  But  because  we  cannot  appre- 
hend this  for  ourselves  of  ourselves,  therefore  he  hath  pro- 
mised to  send  us  the  "  Spirit  of  truth,  who  will  dwell  with 
us,"  John  xiv.  17,  and  apply  this  to  us  for  ever.  Thus 
you  have  seen  the  first  triplicify,  how  he  is  the  same  ohjeC' 
lively  in  his  word.    Now  he  is 

Subjectively  in  his  power  the  same  ;  and 

! Yesterday,  for  be  made  the  world. 
To-day,  for  he  governs  the  world. 
For  ever,  for  be  shall  judge  the  world. 

Yesterday  in  the  Creation. 
"  All  things  were  made  by  him,  and  without  him  was  not 
any  thing  made  that  was  made,"  John  i.  3.  "  By  him  were 
all  things  created  that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth, 
visible  and  invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones  or  dominions, 
or  principalities,  or  powers ;  all  things  were  created  by 
him,  and  for  him,"  Col.  i.  16.  All  things,  even  the  great 
and  fair  book  of  the  world,  ot  three  so  hirge  leaves,  Caelum, 
Solum,  Solum  ;  heaven,  earth,  and  sea.  The  prophet  calls 
him  "  the  everlasting  Father,"  Isa.  ix.  6  ;  Daniel,  the  "  An- 
cient of  days,"  Dan.  vii.  9.  Solomon  says,  that  "the  Lord 
possessed  bira  in  the  beginning  of  bis  xrny.  before  his  works 


THE  IMMUTABLE  MERCY  OF  JESUS  CHRIST.  81 

of  old,"  Prov.  vili.  22.  So  himself  told  the  unbeUeving 
Jews,  "Before  Abraham  was,  I  am,"  John  vili.  58. 

We  owe,  then,  ourselves  to  Christ  for  our  creation  ;  but 
Low  much  more  for  our  redemption  ?  Si  tolum  me  debeo 
pro  me  facto,  quid  addam  jam  pro  me  refecto  ?  In  primo  opcre 
me  viihi  dedit:  in  secundo  se  mihi  dcdit.  (Bern,  de  dilig.  Deo.) 
If  I  owe  him  my  whole  self  for  making  me,  what  have  I 
left  to  pay  him  for  redeeming  me  ?  In  the  first  work,  he 
gave  myself  to  me  ;  in  the  second,  he  gave  himself  for  me. 
By  a  double  right,  we  owe  him  ourselves ;  we  are  worthy 
of  a  double  punishment,  if  we  give  him  not  his  own. 

To-day  in  the  Governing. 

"  He  upholdeth  all  things  by  the  word  of  his  power,"  Heb. 
i.  3.  He  is  pater  familias  (a  householder),  and  disposeth  all 
things  in  this  universe  with  greater  care  and  providence  than 
any  householder  can  manage  the  business  of  his  private  fa- 
mily. He  leaves  it  not,  as  the  carpenter,  having  built  the  frame 
of  an  house,  to  others  to  perfect  it,  but  looks  to  it  himself. 
His  creation  and  providence  are  like  the  mother  and  the 
nurse,  the  one  produceth,  the  other  preserveth.  His  crea- 
tion was  a  short  providence ;  his  providence  a  perpetual 
creation.  The  one  sets  up  the  frame  of  the  house,  the 
other  keeps  it  in  reparation. 

Neither  is  this  a  disparagement  to  the  majesty  of  God, 
as  the  vain  epicures  imagined,  curare  minima,  to  regard  the 
least  things,  but  rather  an  honour,  curare  injiaita,  to  regard 
all  things.  Neither  doth  this  extend  only  to  natural  things, 
chained  together  by  a  regular  order  of  succession,  but  even 
to  casual  and  contingent  things.  Oftentimes,  cum  aliud 
volumus,  aliud  agimus,  the  event  crosseth  our  purpose ; 
which  must  content  us,  though  it  flill  out  otherwise  than  we 
purposed,  because  God  purposed  as  it  is  fallen  out.  It  is 
enough  that  the  thing  attain  the  one  end,  though  it  miss 
ours  ;  that  God's  will  be  done,  though  ours  be  crossed. 

But  let  me  say,  "  Hath  God  care  of  fowls  and  flowers, 
and  will  he  not  care  for  you"  (Matth.  vi.  26,  30),  his  own 
image  ?    Yea,  let  me  go  further  ;  hath  God  care  of  the 

F 


82 


SEMPER  IDEM  ;  Oli, 


wicked  ?  Doth  he  pour  down  the  happj'  influences  of  heaven 
on  the  "  unjust  man's  ground?"  Matth.  v.  45.  And  shall 
the  faithful  want  his  blessing  ?  Doth  he  provide  for  the 
sons  of  Belial,  and  shall  his  own  chilflren  lack  ?  lie  may 
give  meat  and  raiment  to  the  rest,  but  his  bounty  to  Ben- 
jamin shall  exceed.  If  Moab,  his  wash-pot,  taste  of  his  be- 
nefits, then  Judah,  the  signet  on  his  finger,  cannot  be  for- 
gotten. The  king  governs  all  the  subjects  in  his  dominions, 
but  his  servants  that  wait  in  his  court  partake  of  his  most 
princely  favours.  God  heals  the  sores  of  the  verj'  wicked ; 
but  if  it  be  told  him,  "  Lord,  he  whom  thou  lovest  is  sick" 
(  John  xi.  3),  it  is  enough,  he  shall  be  healed.  The  ^cked 
may  have  outward  blessings  without  inward,  and  that  is 
Essau's  pottage  without  his  birth-right ;  but  the  elect  have 
inward  blessings,  though  they  want  outward,  and  that  is 
Jacob's  inheritance  TOthout  liis  pottage. 

For  ever  :  because  he  shall  judge  the  world.  God  hath 
appointed  a  day  in  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in  righteous- 
ness, "  by  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained,"  Acts  xvii.  31. 
"  In  the  day  that  God  shall  judge  the  secrets  of  men 
by  Jesus  Christ,"  Rom.  ii.  16.  Let  the  ivicked  flatter 
themselves  that  all  is  but  talk  of  any  coming  to  judgment ; 
non  aliud  videre  patres,  aliudve  nepotes  aspicient ;  all  is  but 
terriculamenta  nutricum,  mere  scare-babes.  Scribarum 
pennce  mendaces ;  they  have  written  lies,  there  is  no  such 
matter.  But  when  they  shall  see  that  Lamb  "  whom  they 
have  pierced  and  scorned"  (Rev.  i.  7),  "  they  shall  cry  to  the 
mountains  and  rocks.  Fall  upon  us,  and  cover  us,"  Rev.vi.  16. 
Now  they  flatter  themselves  with  his  death  ;  mortuus  est,  he 
is  dead  and  gone  ;  and  Mortuum  Casarem  quis  metuit  f  Who 
fears  even  a  Caesar  when  he  is  dead  ?  But  "  He  that  was 
dead,  liveth  ;  behold,  I  am  alive  for  evermore,  Amen.  Jesus 
Christ  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  for  ever,"  Rev.  L  18. 
QucEsitor  scelerum  veniet,  vindexque  reorum:  (the  inquisitor  of 
sins,  the  avenger  of  the  accused,  will  come.) 

Here  is  matter  of  infaUible  comfort  to  us  :  "  Lift  up  your 
heads,  for  your  redemption  draweth  nigh,"  Luke  xxi.  28. 
Here  we  are  imprisoned,  martjTed,  tortured  ;  but  when 
that  great  assize  and  general  jail-delivery  comes,  mors  non 


TUK  IMMUTABLE  MERCY  OF  JESUS  CHRIST.  83 

crit  ultra,  "  There  shall  be  no  more  death  nor  sorrow,  but 
all  teai-s  shall  be  wiped  fi'om  our  ej-es,"  Eev.  xxi.  4. 
"  For  it  is  a  righteous  thing  with  God  to  recompense  tribu- 
lation to  them  that  trouble  you.  And  to  you  who  are 
troubled,  rest  with  us,  when  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  re- 
vealed from  heaven,  with  his  mighty  angels,"  2  Thess.  i.  6, 7. 
AVe  shall  then  find  him  the  same  ; — the  same  Lamb  that 
bought  us  shall  give  us  a  Venite  bead,  "  Come,  ye  blessed, 
receive  yom-  kingdom.  Surely  I  come  quickly.  Amen. 
Even  so,  come  Lord  Jesus,"  Rev.  xxii.  20. 

Effectually  in  his  Grace  and  Mercy. 

C  Yesterday  to  our  Fathers, 
So  he  is  the  same^  To-day  to  ourselves, 

(^For  ever  to  our  Children. 

Yesterday  to  our  Fathers. 

All  our  athers,  whose  souls  are  now  in  heaven,  those 
"  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,"  Heb.  xii.  23,  were,  as 
the  next  words  intimate,  saved  "  by  Jesus  the  Mediator  of 
the  new  covenant,  and  by  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  that 
speaketh  better  things  than  that  of  Abel."  Whether  they 
lived  under  nature,  or  under  the  law,  Christ  was  their  ex- 
pectation ;  and  they  were  justified  credendo  in  venturum 
Christum,  by  believing  in  the  Messiah  to  come.  So  Luke 
ii.  25,  "  Simeon  is  said  to  wait  for  the  consolation  of 
Israel." 

To-day  to  ourselves. 

His  mercy  is  everlasting  ;  his  truth  endureth  from  gene- 
ration to  generation.  The  same  gracious  Saviour  that  he 
was  yesterday  to  our  fathers,  is  he  to-day  to  us,  if  we  be  to- 
day faithful  to  him.  All  catch  at  this  comfort,  but  in  vain 
ivithout  the  hand  of  faith.  There  is  no  deficiency  in  him  ; 
but  is  there  none  in  thee  ?  Whatsoever  Chiist  is,  what  art 
thou  ?  He  forgave  Mary  Magdalene  many  grievous  sins  ; 
so  he  will  forgive  thee,  if  thou  canst  shed  Marv  Magdalene's 


84  SKMPER  IDF.M  ;  OU, 

tears.  He  took  the  malefactor  from  the  cross  to  Paradise ; 
thither  he  will  receive  thee  if  thou  have  the  same  faith.  He 
was  merciful  to  a  denying  apostle  ;  challenge  thou  the  like 
mercy  if  thou  have  the  like  repentance.  If  we  will  be  like 
these,  Christ,  assuredly,  will  be  ever  like  himself  "WTien 
any  man  shall  prove  to  be  such  a  sinner,  he  will  not  fail  to 
be  such  a  Saviour. 

To-day  he  is  thine,  if  to-day  thou  wilt  be  his  :  thine  to- 
morrow, if  yet  to-morrow  thou  wilt  be  his.  But  how  if 
dark  death  prevent  the  morrow's  light  ?  He  was  yesterday, 
so  wert  thou  :  he  is  to-day,  so  art  thou  :  he  is  to-morrow, 
so  perhaps  mayest  thou  not  be.  Time  may  change  thee, 
though  it  cannot  change  him.  He  is  not  (but  thou  art) 
subject  to  mutation.  This  I  dare  boldly  say  :  he  that  re- 
pents but  one  day  before  he  dies,  shall  find  Christ  the  same 
in  mercy  and  forgiveness.  Wickedness  itself  is  glad  to  hear 
this  ;  but  let  the  sinner  be  foithful  on  his  part,  as  God  is 
merciful  on  his  part  :  let  him  be  sure  that  he  repent  one 
day  before  he  dies,  whereof  he  cannot  be  sure,  except  he 
repent  every  day  ;  for  no  man  knows  his  last  day.  Lalet 
ultimus  dies,  ut  observetur  otnnis  dies.  Therefore  (saith 
Augustine)  we  know  not  our  last  day,  that  we  might  ob- 
serve every  day.  "  To-day,  therefore,  hear  his  voice," 
Psal.  xcv.  7. 

Thou  hast  lost  yesterday  negligently — thou  losest  to-day 
wilfully  ;  and  therefore  mayest  lose  for  ever  inevitably.  It 
is  just  with  God  to  punish  two  days'  neglect  with  the  loss 
of  the  third.  The  hand  of  f;dth  may  be  withered,  the 
spring  of  repentance  dried  up,  the  eye  of  hope  blind,  the 
foot  of  charity  lame.  To-day,  then,  hear  his  voice,  and 
make  him  thine.  Yesterday  is  lost,  to-day  may  be  gained  ; 
but  that  once  gone,  and  thou  with  it,  when  thou  art  dead 
and  judged,  it  will  do  thee  small  comfort  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  same  for  ever. 

For  ever  to  our  Children. 
He  that  was  yesterday  the  God  of  Abraham,  is  to-day 
ours,  and  will  be  forever  our  children's.  As  well  now  "  the 


THE  IMMUTABLE  MERCY  OF  JESUS  CHRIST.  85 

light  of  the  Gentiles,"  as  before  "  the  glory  of  Israel.  I  will 
be  the  God  of  thy  seed,  saith  the  Lord  to  Abraham,"  Luke 
ii.  32.  "  His  mercy  is  on  them  that  fear  him,  from  gene- 
ration to  generation,"  Luke  i.  50. 

Many  parents  are  solicitously  perplexed  how  their  chil- 
dren shall  do  when  they  are  dead  ;  yet  they  consider  not 
how  God  provided  for  them  when  they  were  children.  Is 
the  "Lord's  arm  shortened?"  Did  he  take  thee  from  thy 
mother's  breasts ;  and  "  when  thy  parents  forsook  thee." 
(as  the  Psalmist  saith),  became  thy  Father?  And  cannot 
this  experienced  mercy  to  thee  persuade  thee,  that  he  will 
not  forsake  thine?  Is  not  "  Jesus  Christ  the  same  yester- 
day, and  to-day,  and  for  ever  ?"  "I  have  been  young  (saith 
David),  and  am  now  old  ;  yet  have  I  not  seen  the  righteous 
forsaken  (that  is  granted,  nay)  nor  his  seed  begging  bread," 
Psal.  xxxvii.  25. 

Many  distrustful  fathers  are  so  carking  for  their  pos- 
terity, that  while  they  live  they  starve  their  bodies,  and 
hazard  their  souls  to  leave  them  rich.  To  such  a  father  it 
is  said  justly  :  Dives  es  hceredi,  pauper  iiiopsque  iibi.  Like 
an  over-kind  hen,  he  feeds  his  chickens,  and  famisheth  him- 
self If  usury,  circumvention,  oppression,  extortion,  can 
make  them  rich,  they  shall  not  be  poor.  Their  folly  is  ridi- 
culous ;  they  fear  lest  their  children  should  be  miserable, 
yet  take  the  only  course  to  make  them  miserable ;  for  they 
leave  them,  not  so  much  heirs  to  their  goods  as  to  their 
evils.  They  do  as  certainly  inherit  their  father's  sins  as 
their  lands  :  "  God  layeth  up  his  iniquity  for  his  children  ; 
and  his  offspring  shall  want  a  morsel  of  bread,"  Job  xxi.  19. 

On  the  contrary,  "  the  good  man  is  merciful,  and  lendeth; 
and  his  seed  is  blessed,"  Psal.  xxxvii.  26.  That  the  world- 
ling thinks  shall  make  his  posterity  poor,  God  saith  shall 
make  the  good  man  rich.  The  precept  gives  a  promise  of 
mercy  to  obedience,  not  only  confined  to  the  obedient  man's 
self,  but  extended  to  his  seed,  and  that  even  to  a  thousand 
generations,  Exod.  xx.  6.  Trust,  then,  Christ  with  thy 
children ;  when  thy  friends  shall  fail,  usury  bear  no  date, 
oppression  be  condemned  to  hell,  thyself  rotten  to  dust,  the 


86 


SliMPEIl  IDEM,  &C. 


world  itself  turned  and  burned  into  cinders,  still  "  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  for  ever." 
Now  then,  as  "  grace  and  peace  are  from  him  which  is,  and 
which  was,  and  which  is  to  come ;  "  so  glory  and  honour 
be  to  Him,  which  is,  which  was,  and  which  is  to  come ; 
even  to  "  Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day, 
and  for  ever,"  Rev.  i.  4. 


HEAVEN-GATE; 

OB, 

THE   PASSAGE    TO  PARADISE. 
"  And  may  enter  in  through  the  gates  into  the  city."— ««».  uSi,  14. 


HEAVEN-GATE; 


OS, 


THE   PASSAGE   TO  PARADISE. 


And  may  enter  in  through  the  gates  into  the  city."— xxii.  14, 


If  we  supply  these  words  with  the  first  word  of  the 
verse,  "blessed,"  we  shall  make  a  perfect  sentence  of  perfect 
comfort.  "  Blessed  are  they  that  do  his  commandments, 
that  they  may  have  right  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter 
in  through  the  gates  into  the  city." 


The  premises  quahfyus;  we  must  be  such  as  are  Messed; 
and  who  are  they?  Qui  prcestant  mandata,  that  do  his 
commandments.  The  promises  cro^vn  us,  and  these  are 
two  :  First,  that  we  "  may  have  right  to  the  tree  of  life," 
even  that  which  "  is  in  the  midst  of  the  paradise  of  God," 
Rev.  ii.  7.  From  whence  the  angel,  with  a  flaming  sword, 
shall  ket'p  all  the  reprobate  ;  secondly,  Et  per  portas  iiiyre- 
diantnr  cirilalem,  and  may  enter  in  through  the  gates  into 
the  city  ;  when  without  shall  be  dogs  and  scorners,  &c.  ; 
Avhosoever  loveth  and  maketh  a  lie. 

To  the  last  words  of  the  verse  I  have  bound  and  bounded 
my  discourse  ;  wherein  I  find  three  points  readily  offering 
themselves  to  be 


In  the  whole  there  be 


90  IIEAVEN-GATE  ;  OR, 

JMotus,        Motion,  Enter  in, 
Modus,       INIanner,  Through  the  gates, 
Terminus,    Place,    Into  the  city. 

So  there  is  a  threefold  (        ^hat,  an  entrance, 

circumstance,       j        How,  through  the  gates. 
Quo,  vV  hither,  into  the  city. 

The  motion.    Enter  in. 

They  are  blessed  that  enter  in  ;  perseverance  only  makes 
happy.  Our  labours  must  not  cease  till  we  can  (with  Ste- 
phen) see  these  gates  open,  and  our  Saviour  offering  to  take 
us  by  the  hand,  and  welcome  our  entrance.  We  know  who 
hath  taught  us,  that  only  "  continuers  to  the  end  shall  be 
saved."  It  is  observable,  that  in  the  holy  Spirit's  letters 
sent  to  those  seven  churches,  in  the  second  and  third  chap- 
ters of  this  book,  all  the  promises  run  to  perseverers ;  vincenti 
dabitur,  to  him  that  overcomes  it  shall  be  given.  Kec  pa- 
ranti  ad  prcelium,  nec  pugnanti  ad  sanguinem,  midto  minus 
tergiver.ianti  ad  peccatum,  sed  vincenti  ad  victoriam.  Nor  to 
him  that  prepares  to  fight,  nor  to  him  that  resists  to  blood, 
much  less  to  him  that  shews  his  back  in  cowardice,  but  to 
him  that  overcomes  to  conquest.  Demas  seeing  this  war, 
ran  away  ;  fell  back  to  the  security  of  the  world.  Saul 
made  himself  ready  to  this  battle,  but  he  durst  not  fight — 
glory  and  lusts  carried  him  away.  Judas  stood  a  bout  or 
two,  but  the  high  priest's  money  made  him  give  over,  and 
the  de^Tl  took  him  captive.  But  Paul  fought  out  this  com- 
bat even  to  victory,  though  "  he  bore  in  his  body  the  marks 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,"  Gal.  vi.  17.  "  I  have  fought  a  good 
fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith  ; 
therefore  now  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteous- 
ness, which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give  me," 
2  Tim.  iv.  7.  8. 

This  is  a  good  life,  saith  Bernard.  Mala  pati,  et  bona 
facere ;  ct  sic  usque  ad  mortem  perseverare,  to  suffer  evU,  to 
do  good,  and  so  to  continue  to  the  end.  Some  came  into 
the  vineyard  in  the  morning,  some  at  noon,  others  later; 


THE  PASSAGE  TO  PAllADISE. 


91 


none  received  the  penny  but  tliey  that  stayed  till  night. 
Augustine  affirms  this  to  be  almost  all  the  contents  of  the 
Lord's  prayer  :  Hallowed  be  thy  name,  thy  kingdom  come, 
thy  -will  be  done  (Aug.  de  bono  Perseverantice,  cap.  2.) 
AVherein  we  desire  that  his  name  may  always  be  sanctified, 
his  kingdom  alwaj  s  propagated,  his  will  always  obeyed. 

Indeed  this  grace  perfects  all  graces.  We  believe  in 
vain,  if  our  faith  hold  not  out  to  the  end  ;  we  love  in  vain, 
if  our  charity  grow  cold  at  last  ;  we  pray  in  vain,  if  our 
zeal  grows  faint ;  we  strive  in  vain  at  the  strait  gate,  if  not 
till  we  enter.  Venire  ad  reliffionem  est  vera  dcvotio ;  sed  non 
relif/iose  livere  vera  Janinatio ;  to  come  to  the  truth  of  reli- 
gion is  true  devotion  ;  not  to  live  religiously  is  true  dam- 
nation. Man  is  naturally  like  a  horse  that  loveth  short 
journeys,  and  there  are  few  that  hold  out.  Whence  it 
comes  that  the  last  are  often  first,  and  the  first  last.  "  Know 
ye  not  that  they  which  run  in  a  race,  run  all,  but  one  re- 
ceiveth  the  prize  ?"  1  Cor.  ix.  24.  He  that  hath  a  good 
horse  can  go  faster  up  a  hill  than  down  a  hill.  He  that 
hath  a  good  faith  doth  as  quickly  ascend  the  Mount  Zion, 
as  the  wicked  descend  to  the  valley  of  Hinnom.  If  men 
would  as  strongly  erect  themselves  upwards,  as  they  direct 
their  courses  downwards,  they  might  go  to  heaven  with  less 
trouble  than  they  do  gD  to  hell. 

But  he  that  at  every  step  looks  at  every  stop,  and  num- 
bers his  perils  with  his  paces,  either  turns  aside  faintly  or 
turns  back  cowardly.  They  that  go  wandering  and  won- 
dering on  their  journc}',  are  at  the  gates  of  Samaria  when 
they  should  enter  the  gates  of  Jerusalem.  God  saith,  "  I 
will  not  leave  you,"  Heb.  xiii.  5.  Will  you  then  leave 
God  ?  One  told  Socrates  that  he  would  fain  go  to  Olympus, 
but  he  distrusted  his  sufiiciency  for  the  length  of  the  journey. 
Socrates  told  him — thou  walkest  every  day  little  or  much, 
continue  this  walk  forward  thy  way,  and  a  few  days  shall 
biing  thee  to  Olympus.  Every  day  every  man  takes  some 
pains  ;  let  him  bestow  that  measure  of  pains  in  travelling  to 
heaven,  and  the  further  he  goes  the  more  heart  he  gets, 
till  at  last  he  enter  through  the  gates  into  the  city. 


92 


HEAVEN-GATE  ;  Oli, 


Bernard  calls  perseverance  the  only  daughter  of  the  high- 
est Iving,  the  perfection  of  virtues,  the  store-house  of  good 
works  ;  a  virtue  without  which  no  man  shall  see  God  :  (Per- 
severantia  est  unica  summi  Regis  Jilia,  virtulum  consummatio, 
tntliis  boni  repositorium,  virtus  sine  qua  nemo  vidthit  Deuni.) 
There  is  a  last  enemy  to  be  destroyed,  Death  ;  we  must  hold 
out  to  the  conquest  even  of  this  last  adversarj'.  Which 
if  it  conquer  us  by  the  sting  of  our  sin,  shall  send  us 
to  the  doors  of  hell :  if  we  conquer  it  by  our  faith,  it  shall 
send  us  to  the  gates  of  this  city,  heaven.  All  the  voyage  is 
lost  through  the  perilous  sea  of  this  world ;  if  we  sufler 
shipwreck  in  the  haven,  and  lose  our  reward  there,  where 
we  should  land  to  receive  it,  what  get  we,  if  we  keep 
Satan  short  of  ruling  us  mth  his  force  many  hours,  when  at 
our  last  hour  he  shall  snatch  our  bliss  fi-om  us  ?  The  runner 
speeds  all  the  way,  but  when  he  comes  at  the  race's  end 
to  the  goal,  he  stretcheth  forth  his  hand  to  catch  the  prize. 
Be  sure  of  thy  last  step,  to  put  forth  the  hand  of  faith  then 
most  strongly  :  Ne  pcrdatiir  prcemium  taittis  Imlioribus  quoe- 
situm ;  lest  the  reward  be  lost,  which  thou  with  much  la- 
bour hast  aimed  at. 

It  is  not  enough,  Qucerere  caelum,  sed  acquirere ;  rum  Chris- 
tum seqtii,  sed  conxequi :  To  seek  heaven,  but  to  find  it ;  not 
to  follow  Christ,  but  to  overtake  him  ;  not  to  be  brought  to 
the  gates,  but  to  enter  in.  "  Many  -will  say  to  Christ  in 
that  day.  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not  prophesied  in  thy  name?" 
Matth.  vii.  22.  But  the  "  Master  of  the  house  is  first  risen, 
and  hath  shut  to  the  door,"  Luke  xiii.  25.  Either  they 
come  too  soon,  before  they  have  gotten  faith  and  a  good 
conscience ;  or  too  late,  as  those  foolish  virgins,  when  the 
gate  was  shut.  If  then  we  have  bogim,  let  us  continue 
to  enter.  Cvjusque  casus  tantb  rmjorut  est  criminis,  q^tantb 
priusquam  caderet  majoris  erat  vii-iutis  (Isidor.)  Every 
man's  fault  hath  so  much  the  more  discredit  of  scandal,  as 
he  before  he  feU  had  credit  of  virtue.  Let  us  beware  that 
we  do  not  slide;  if  slide,  that  we  do  not  fall;  if  fall,  that 
we  fall  forward,  not  backward.  "  The  just  man"  often 
slips,  and  sometime  "  falls,"  Pro  v.  xxiv.  16.  And  this  is  dan- 


THE  PASSAGE  TO  PARADISE. 


93 


gerous ;  for  if  a  man,  while  he  stands  on  his  legs,  can  hardly 
grapple  with  the  devil,  how  shall  he  do  when  he  is  fallen 
down  under  his  feet  ?  But  if  they  do  fall,  they  fall  forward, 
asEzekiel  (Ezek.  i.  28) ;  not  backward,  as  Eli  at  the  loss  of 
the  ark,  1  Sam.  iv.  18 ;  or  they  that  came  to  surprise 
Christ.  "  They  went  backward  and  fell  to  the  ground," 
John  xviii.  6. 

Cease  not  then  thy  godly  endeavours ;  until  Contingas 
portum,  quo  tibi  cursus  erat.  Say  we  not  like  the  woman  to 
Esdras,  whether  in  ii  vision  or  othenvise,  when  he  bade  her 
go  into  the  city.  "  That  will  I  not  do  :  I  will  not  go 
into  the  city,  but  here  I  will  die"  (2  Esdras  x.  18).  It  is  a 
wretched  sin,  saith  Augustine,  after  tears  for  sin  not  to 
preserve  innocence.  Such  a  man  is  washed,  but  is  not 
clean.  Quia  commissa  Jlere  desinit,  el  iterum  Jlenda  commiltit. 
He  ceases  to  weep  for  faults  done,  and  renews  faults  worthy 
of  weeping.  Think  not  thyself  safe,  till  thou  art  got  within 
the  gates  of  the  city.  Behold  thy  Saviour  calling,  thy  Fa- 
ther blessing,  the  Spirit  assisting,  the  angels  comforting,  the 
Word  directing,  the  glory  uniting,  good  men  associating. 
Go  cheerfully,  till  thou  "  enter  b  through  the  gates  into  the 
city." 

The  Manner.     Through  the  Gates. 

Not  singularly  a  gate,  but  gates.  For  the  city  is  said  to 
have  "  twelve  gates.  On  the  east  three  gates,  on  the  north 
three,  on  the  south  three,  and  on  the  west  three,"  Eev.  xxi. 
12.  To  declare  that  men  shall  come  fi-om  all  the  comers  of 
the  world,  "  from  the  east,  and  from  the  west,  from  the 
north,  and  from  the  south  ;  and  shall  sit  do\vn  in  the  king- 
dom of  God,"  Luke  xiii.  29.  These  gates  are  not  literally 
to  be  understood,  but  mystically  :  Pro  modo  intrandi,  for 
the  manner  of  entrance.  The  gates  are  those  passages 
whereby  we  must  enter  this  city. 

Heaven  is  often  said  to  have  a  gate.  "  Strive  to  enter 
in  at  the  strait  gate,"  saith  Christ,  Matth.  vii.  13.  "  Lift 
up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates,  and  be  ye  lifted  up,  ye  everlast- 
ing doors,"  saith  the  Psalmist,  Psal.  xxiv.  7.     "  This  is 


94 


IIEAVEX-GATE  ;  OR, 


none  other  but  the  house  of  God,  and  this  is  the  gate  of 
heaven,"  saith  Jacob,  Gen.  xxviii.  17.  There  must  be 
gates  to  a  city  :  they  that  admit  us  hither  are  the  gates 
of  grace.  So  the  analogy  of  the  words  infer  ;  doing  the 
commandments  is  the  way  to  have  right  in  the  tree  of  life  ; 
obedience  and  sanctification  is  the  gate  to  this  city  of  salva- 
tion.   In  a  word, 


Tlie  temple  had  a  gate  called  Beautiful,  Acts  iii.  2  ;  but 
of  poor  beauty  in  regard  of  this  gate.  Of  the  gates  of  tlie 
sanctuary  spake  David  in  divers  psalms,  with  love  and  joy. 
"  Enter  into  his  gates  with  thanksgiving,  and  into  his  court.s 
with  praise,"  Psal.  e.  4.  This  was  God's  delight.  "  The 
Lord  loveth  the  gates  of  Zion  more  than  all  the  dwellings  of 
Jacob,"  Psal.  Ixxxvii.  2.  This  was  David's  election  to  be 
a  porter  or  keeper  of  the  gates  of  God's  house,  "  rather 
than  dwell  in  the  tents  of  wickedness,"  Psal.  Lvxxiv.  10. 
This  his  resolution  :  "  Our  feet  shall  stand  within  thy  gates, 

0  Jerusalem,"  Psal.  cxxii.  2.  Solomon  made  two  doors 
for  the  entering  of  the  oracle  :  they  were  made  of  "  olive 
trees,  and  wrought  upon  -with  the  cai-vings  of  cherubims," 

1  Ivings  vi.  32.  Tlie  olives  promising  fatness  and  plenty 
of  blessings — the  cherubims,  holiness  and  eternity.  These 
are  holy  gates  ;  let  everv-  one  pray  with  that  royal  prophet, 
"  Open  to  me  the  gates  of  righteousness  :  I  will  go  into 
them,  and  I  will  praise  the  Lord.  This  is  the  gate  of  the 
Lord,  into  which  the  righteous  shall  enter,"  Psal.  cxrai. 
19,  20. 

In  brief,  we  may  distinguish  the  gates  leading  to  tliis 
city  into  two  :  Adoption  and  Sanctification.  Both  these 
meet  in  Christ,  who  is  the  only  gate  or  door  whereby  we 
enter  heaven.  "  I  am  the  door,"  saith  our  Saviour,  janua 
vilce,  the  gate  of  life ;  "  by  me  if  any  enter  in,  he  shidl  be 
saved,"  John  x.  9. 


THE  PASSAGE  TO  PARADISE. 


95 


Adoption  is  the  first  gate.  "  We  have  received  the 
spirit  of  adoption,"  Kom.  viii.  15.  Without  this  passage  there 
is  no  getting  into  heaven.  The  inheritance  of  glory  cannot 
be  given  to  the  children  of  disobedience  :  they  must  first  be 
converted  and  adopted  heirs  in  Christ.  The  grace  of  God 
is  twofold.  There  is  Gratia  gratis  agens  (grace  acting  freely) ; 
and  Gratia  gratum  faciens  (grace  rendering  grateful).  This 
second  grace,  which  is  of  adoption,  is  never  in  a  reprobate  ; 
not  by  an  absolute  impossibility,  but  by  an  indisposition  in 
him  to  receive  it.  A  spark  of  fire  falling  upon  water,  ice, 
or  snow,  goes  out ;  on  wood,  flax,  or  such  apt  matter, 
kindles.  Baptism  is  the  sacrament  of  admission  into  the 
congregation  ;  of  incision  and  initiation,  whereby  we  are 
matriculated  and  received  into  the  motherhood  of  the  Church. 
Therefore  the  sacred  font  is  placed  at  the  church  door  to 
insinuate  and  signify  our  entrance.  So  adoption  is  the  first 
door  or  gate  whereby  we  pass  to  the  city  of  glory. 

This  is  our  new  creation,  whereat  the  angels  of  heaven 
rejoice,  Luke  xv.  10.  At  the  creation  of  dukes  or  earls, 
there  is  great  joy  among  men  ;  but  at  our  new  creation, 
angels  and  seraphims  rejoice  in  the  presence  of  God.  Our 
generation  was  a  non  esse,  ad  esse :  fi-om  not  being,  to  be. 
But  oiu-  regeneration  is  a  male  esse,  ad  iene  esse  :  from  a 
being  evil,  to  be  well  ;  and  that  for  ever.  Through  this 
gate  we  must  pass  to  enter  the  city;  without  this,  death 
shall  send  us  to  another  place.  No  man  ends  this  life  well, 
except  he  be  born  again  before  he  ends  it. 

Now,  if  you  would  be  sure  that  you  are  gone  through 
this  gate,  call  to  mind  what  hath  been  your  repentance. 
The  first  sign  of  regeneration  is  throbs  and  throes  :  you 
cannot  be  adopted  to  Christ  without  sensible  pain,  and  com- 
punction of  heart  for  your  sins.  The  Christian  hath  two 
births,  and  they  are  two  gates  :  he  can  pass  through  none 
of  them  but  with  anguish.  Both  our  first  and  second  birth 
begin  with  crying.  Our  first  birth  is  a  gate  into  this  world  ; 
our  second  is  a  gate  into  the  world  to  come.  There  is  some 
pam  in  both.  For  this  world,  but  little  joy  after  the  pain  ; 
for  the  other,  after  short  sorrow,  eternal  glory. 


96 


HEAVEN-GATE  ;  OK, 


Sanctification  is  the  second  gate.  Make  your  call- 
ing and  election  sure,  saith  Peter,  by  a  holy  life  :  "  For  so 
an  entrance  shall  be  ministered  unto  you  abundantly,  into 
the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,"  2  Pet.  i.  11.  But  "there  shall  in  no  wise  enter 
into  it  any  thing  that  defileth  ;  neither  whatsoever  worketh 
abomination,  or  maketh  a  he,"  Rev.  xxi.  27.  Therefore 
Paul  pra3s  the  "  God  of  peace  to  sanctify  us  wholly,"  1 
Thess.  V.  23.  Holiness  is  the  way  to  happiness  ;  grace  the 
g.ite  of  glory.  But  some  may  object  from  that  of  Paul,  that 
this  sanctification  must  be  total  and  perfect  ;  but  who  can 
come  so  furnished  to  the  gate  ?  therefore,  who  can  enter  the 
city  ?  I  answer :  There  is  required  only  sanclijicatio  via, 
non  patrice :  such  a  sanctity  as  the  gate  can  afford,  though 
far  short  of  that  within  the  city.  The  School  distinguisheth 
well.  It  must  be  communiter  in  toto,  et  universaliter  in  sin- 
gulis partibus ;  but  not  totaliler  et perfecth  This  sanctifica- 
tion must  be  communicated  to  the  whole  man,  and  univer- 
sally propagated  to  every  part,  though  it  have  in  no  place 
of  man  a  total  perfection.  Indeed,  nullum  peccatum  retinen- 
dum  est  spe  remissionis.  No  sin  is  to  be  cherished  in  hope 
of  mercy.  But  we  must  strive  for  every  grace  we  have  not, 
and  for  the  increase  of  every  grace  we  have.  Quoerendum 
quod  deest  bonum,  indulgendum  quod  adest.  Let  us  make 
much  of  that  we  possess,  and  still  seek  for  more,  "  striving 
to  the  mark,"  Phil.  iii.  14.  And  yet  when  all  is  done, 
profectio  h(ec,  7ion  perfectio  est ;  we  have  made  a  good  step 
forward,  but  are  not  come  to  our  full  home.  But  stiU,  Lord, 
be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner,  and  enter  not  into  judgment 
with  us. 

Now,  since  this  gate  stands  in  our  own  heart,  give  me 
leave  to  describe  it,  and  that  briefly,  by 


The 


(  Properties, 
(Parts. 


•  The  properties  are  two.  It  is 


Low — Heaven  is  well  called  a  "  building  not  made  with 
hands,"  2  Cor.  v.  1  ;  for  it  differs  both  in  matter  and  form 


THE  PASSAGE  TO  PARADISE.  97 

from  earthly  edifices.  For  matter,  it  is  eternal,  not  mo- 
mentary ;  for  manner,  fabricated  without  hands.  Great 
manors  on  earth  have  large  answerable  porches.  Heaven 
must  needs  be  spacious,  when  a  little  star  fi.xed  in  a  far 
lower  orb,  exceeds  the  earth  in  quantity  ;  yet  hath  it  a  low 
gate,  not  a  lofty  coming  in. 

They  must  stoop,  then,  that  will  enter  here.  "  He  hath 
filled  the  hungry  mth  good  things,  and  the  rich  he  hath 
sent  empty  away,"  Luke  i.  53.  The  rich  in  their  own  con- 
ceits, and  proud  of  their  own  worth,  shall  be  sent  empty 
from  this  gate.  Zaccheus  climbs  up  into  a  sycamore  tree  to 
lieliold  Jesus  ;  but  when  Jesus  beheld  liim  got  up  so  high, 
lie  said.  Come  down  ;  "  Zaccheus  make  haste,  and  come 
down,"  Luke  xix.  6.  Whosoever  will  entertain  Jesus, 
must  come  down.  The  haughty  Nebuchadnezzar,  that 
thinks  with  his  head  to  knock  out  the  stars  in  heaven,  must 
stoop  at  this  gate,  or  he  cannot  enter.  Be  you  never  so 
lofty,  you  must  bend.  God's  honour  must  be  preferred  be- 
fore your  honours.  It  is  no  discredit  to  your  worships  to 
worship  God. 

Little. — Christ  calls  it  a  "  narrow  gate,"  Luke  xiii. 
24.  They  must  be  little  that  enter  ;  little  in  their  own 
eyes,  slender  in  the  opinion  of  themselves.  "  Whosoever 
shall  not  receive  the  kingdom  of  God  as  a  little  child,  he 
shall  not  enter  therein,"  Mark  x.  15.  Samuel  to  Saul: 
"  When  thou  wast  little  in  thine  own  sight,  wast  thou  not 
made  the  head  of  the  tribes  of  Israel?"  1  Sam.  xv.  17. 
When  Jesse  had  made  all  his  sons  pass  before  Samuel,  he 
asked  him  if  none  remained  yet.  Jesse  answers.  Yes,  a 
little  one  tending  the  flocks.  "  Fetch  that  little  one,"  saith 
Samuel,  "  for  we  \vill  not  sit  down  till  he  come,"  1  Sam.  xvi. 
11.  That  httle  one  was  he.  Says  the  angel  to  Esdras, 
"  A  city  is  built,  and  set  upon  abroad  field,  full  of  all  good 
things,  2  Esdras  vii.  6,  yet  the  entrance  thereof  is  nar- 
row." This  is  spatiosa  et  speciosa  civitas :  A  city  beauti- 
ful and  roomy  ;  yet  it  hath  but  a  narrow  wicket,  a  little 
gate. 

G 


98 


HEAVEN-GATE  ;  OR, 


Alas  !  how  will  the  surfeited  epicure  do  to  enter,  whose 
gluttonous  body  is  so  deformed,  that  it  moves  like  a  great 
tun  upon  two  pots  ?  "What  hope  hath  an  iinpropriator,  with 
four  or  five  churches  on  his  back,  to  pass  tliis  Uttle  gate? 
The  bribing  officer  hath  a  swollen  hand,  it  will  not  enter ; 
and  the  gouty  usurer  cannot  thrust  in  his  foot.  The  fac- 
tious schismatic  hath  too  big  a  head,  the  swearer  such  forked 
blasphemies  in  his  mouth,  that  here  is  no  entrance.  Pride 
hath  no  more  hope  to  get  into  the  gates  of  that  city  above, 
than  there  is  hope  to  cast  it  out  the  gates  of  this  city  be- 
low. Much  good  do  it  with  earthly  courts,  for  it  must  not 
come  into  the  courts  of  heaven. 

Think,  O  sinners  ;  you  cannot  go  with  these  oppressions, 
with  these  oaths,  fi-auds,  bribes,  usuries,  with  these  wicked- 
nesses, into  the  gates  of  this  city.  You  must  shift  them  off, 
or  they  will  shut  you  out. 

You  hear  the  properties  ;  the  parts  are  now  to  be  consi- 
dered, and  these  are  four :  The  foundation,  the  two  sides, 
and  the  roof.  The  foundation  is  Faith ;  one  of  the  sides, 
Patience ;  the  other  Innocence ;  the  roof.  Charity. 

Faith  is  the  foundation.  "  Be  ye  grounded  and  set- 
tled in  the  faith,"  Colos.  i.  23.  Credendo  fundatur,  saith 
Augustine.  It  is  grounded  in  faith.  All  other  graces  are 
(as  it  were)  built  on  this  foimdation.  Credimus  quod  spera- 
mus :  quod  credimus  et  speramus,  diligimus:  quod  credimus, 
speramus,  et  diligimus,  operamur.  What  we  hope,  we  be- 
lieve ;  what  we  believe  and  hope,  we  love ;  what  we  be- 
lieve, hope,  and  love,  we  endeavour  to  attain.  So  all  is 
built  on  faith. 

Hope  on  faith.  Nulla  spes  increditi:  it  is  impossible  to 
hope  for  that  we  believe  not  to  be.  Charity  on  faith :  why 
should  a  man  give  all  to  the  poor,  unless  he  believed  an 
abundant  recompense?  Repentance  on  faith  :  why  else  suf- 
fer we  contrition  for  sin,  if  we  believed  not  remission  of  sin? 
Temperance  on  faith  :  why  forbear  we  the  pleasing  vanities 
of  the  world,  but  that  we  believe  the  transcendent  joys  of 
eternity,  whereof  these  harlots  would  rob  us  ?  Patience  on 


THE  PASSAGE  TO  PARADISE. 


99 


faith :  why  woiild  we  endure  such  calamities  with  willing 
quietness  and  subjection,  if  we  believed  not  an  everlasting 
peace  and  rest  to  come  ?  All  obedience  on  faith,  that  God 
would  accept  it  in  Jesus  Christ.  If  all  be  built  on  faith,  I 
may  call  it  the  basis  and  foundation  of  this  gate.  "  With- 
out faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God  :  for  he  that  cometh 
to  God  must  believe  that  he  is,  and  that  he  is  a  rewarder  of 
them  that  diligently  seek  him,"  Ileb.  xi.  6.  Faith  is  the 
passage-way  to  God ;  not  one  of  that  holy  ensuing  legend 
entered  the  city  of  life  without  this.  He  that  hath  faith 
sh;dl  enter  ;  yea,  he  is  entered.  "  He  hath  everlasting  life, 
and  shall  not  come  into  condemnation  ;  but  is  passed  from 
death  to  life,"  John  v.  24. 

Patience  is  one  of  the  pillars.  "  Ye  have  need  of 
patience,  that  when  you  have  done  the  will  of  God,  ye 
might  receive  the  promise,"  Heb.  x.  36.  That  when  you 
have  suffered  before  the  gates,  ye  may  enter  the  city. 
There  be  three  enemies  that  assault  the  soul  before  she  en- 
ter the  gates — a  lion,  a  leopard,  and  a  fox.  The  Hon  is 
the  devil,  who  roareth  with  hideous  eyes  and  bloody  jaws, 
1  Pet.  T.  8.  The  leopard  is  the  world,  which  hath  a  gay 
spotted  hide  ;  but  if  it  take  us  within  the  clutches,  it  de- 
vours us.  The  fox  is  our  concupiscence,  bred  in  us,  which 
craftily  spoils  our  grapes,  our  young  vines,  our  tender 
graces,  Cant.  ii.  15.  Patience  hath  therefore  an  armed  sol- 
dier with  her,  called  Christian  fortitude,  to  give  repulse  to 
all  these  encounters.  And  what  he  cannot  feriendo  by 
smiting,  she  conquers  fereudo  by  suffering.  Vmcit  etiaiii 
clum  patitur.  She  overcomes,  even  while  she  suffers.  Pa- 
tience meekly  bears  wongs  done  to  our  own  person  ;  forti- 
tude encounters  courageously  wrongs  done  to  the  person  of 
Christ.  She  -will  not  yield  to  sin,  though  she  die.  She 
hath  the  spiiit  of  Esther  to  withstand  things  that  dishonour 
God.    "  If  I  perish,  I  perish,"  Esth.  iv.  16. 

Innocence  is  the  other  pillar.  As  patience  teacheth 
us  to  bear  wrongs,  so  innocence  to  do  none.   Patience  gives 


100 


heaven-gate;  ob, 


us  a  shield,  but  innocence  denies  us  a  sword.  Ourselves 
we  may  defend,  others  we  must  not  offend.  Innocence  is 
such  a  virtue.  Qua  ciiin  aliis  non  nocet,  nee  sibi  nocet  (Au- 
gustine). Which  as  it  wrongs  not  others,  so  not  itself.  He 
that  hurts  liimself,  is  not  innocent.  The  prodigal  is  no 
man's  foe  but  his  own,  saith  the  proverb  ;  but  because  he 
is  his  own  foe,  he  is  not  innocent.  TriumpJtus  innocentioe  est 
non  peccare  ubi  potest  (Seneca).  It  is  the  triumph  of  inno- 
cence not  to  offend  where  it  may. 

No  testimony  is  more  sweet  to  the  conscience  than  this  : 
"  Remember,  O  Lord,  how  I  have  walked  before  thee  in 
truth,  and  with  a  perfect  heart,"  Isa.  xxxviii.  3.  So  Job, 
"  My  heart  shall  not  condemn  me  for  my  days."  Blessed 
soul  thus  comforted.  It  smiles  at  the  fro-vvns  of  earth,  and 
dares  stand  the  thunder.  Tliough  there  be  no  innocency 
but  rejoiceth  to  stand  in  the  sight  of  mercy,  yet  thus  in  the 
midst  of  injuries  it  cheers  itself:  "  O  Lord,  thou  knowest 
my  innocence."  The  wicked  "  cover  themselves  with  vio- 
lence as  with  a  garment,"  Psa.  Ixxiii.  6  ;  therefore  confu- 
sion shall  cover  them  as  a  cloak.  "  Blessed  are  the  meek, 
for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth,"  Matth.  v.  5.  That  part 
of  the  earth  they  live  in  shall  afford  them  quiet ;  and  their 
part  in  heaven  hath  no  disquiet  in  it.  Si  amoveantiir,  ad- 
moventur  in  locum,  a  quo  non  removcntur  in  aternum.  If 
they  be  moved,  they  are  moved  to  a  place  from  whence 
they  shall  never  be  removed.  "  I  will  wash  mine  hands  in 
innocency  :  so  will  I  compass  thine  altar,  0  Lord,"  Psa. 
xx\-i.  6.  If  innocence  must  lead  us  to  the  altar  on  earth, 
sure  that  must  be  our  gate  to  the  glorj'  of  heaven. 

Charity  is  the  roof,  diligemlo  perficitur,  (Augustine) ;  love 
makes  up  the  building.  "  Now  abideth  faith,  hope,  and  cha- 
rity ;  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  chai-ity,"  1  Cor.  xili.  13.  It 
is  a  grace  of  the  loveliest  countenance,  and  longest  continu- 
ance ;  for  countenance,  it  is  amiable  ;  all  love  it.  The  poor 
respect  not  thy  faith  so  much  as  thy  charity.  For  continu- 
ance, faith  and  hope  take  their  leave  of  us  in  death  ;  but 
charity  brings  us  to  heaven-door,  and  ushers  us  into  glory. 


THE  PASSAGE  TO  PARADISE. 


101 


"  I  know  not  what  to  say  more  in  thy  praise,  O  charity, 
than,  ut  Deum  de  coelo  iraheres,  et  hominem  ad  caelum  ele- 
vares,"  (Hugo  de  laude  Charitatis)  ;  than  thou  didst 
bring  down  God  from  heaven  to  earth,  and  dost  lift  up  man 
from  earth  to  heaven.  Great  is  thy  virtue,  that  by  thee 
God  should  be  humbled  to  man,  by  thee  man  should  be  ex- 
alted to  God. 

You  have  the  gates  described.  Let  us  draw  a  short  con- 
clusion from  these  two  former  circumstances,  and  then  en- 
ter the  city. 

The  Sum. 

There  is  no  entrance  to  the  city  but  by  the  gates ;  no 
passage  to  glory  but  by  grace.  The  wall  of  this  city  is 
said  to  be  great  and  high  (Rev.  xxi.  12.)  High,  no  climbing 
over;  great,  no  breaking  through.  So  Christ  saith,  "No 
thief  can  break  through  and  steal,"  Matth.  vi.  20.  There- 
fore through  the  gates,  or  no  way.  "  CoiTuption  doth  not 
inherit  incorruption,"  1  Cor.  xv.  50.  This  coiTupted  man 
must  be  regenerate,  that  he  may  be  saved  ;  must  be  sancti- 
fied, that  he  may  be  glorified.  Babel-builders  may  offer 
fair  for  heaven,  but  not  come  near  it.  The  giants  of  om- 
time,  I  mean  the  monstrous  sinners,  may,  ivtpnncre  Pellion 
Ossw-i  lay  rebellion  upon  presiunptlon,  treason  upon  rebel- 
lion, blasphemy  upon  all,  as  if  they  would  sink  heaven  with 
their  loud  and  lewd  ordinance,  and  pluck  God  out  of  his 
throne  ;  but  hell  gapes  in  expectation  of  them.  This  gate 
is  kept,  as  the  gate  of  paradise,  -mih  a  flaming  sword  of  jus- 
tice, to  keep  out  "  idolaters,  adulterers,  thieves,  covetous, 
drunkards,  revilers,  extortioners,"  1  Cor.  vi.  9,  and  other 
dogs  of  the  same  litter,  "  from  the  kingdom  of  God,"  Rev. 
xxii.  16. 

Some  trust  to  open  these  gates  with  golden  keys  ;  but 
bribery  is  rather  a  key  to  unlock  the  gates  of  hell.  Let 
Rome  seU  what  she  list,  and  warrant  it  hke  the  seller  in  the 
Proverbs,  "  It  is  good,  it  is  good."    Yet  it  is  naught ;  but 


102 


HEAVEN-GATE  ;  OR, 


were  it  good,  God  never  promised  to  stand  to  the  pope's 
bargains.  Otliers  liave  dreamed  of  no  other  gate  but  their 
own  righteousness.  Poor  souls,  they  cannot  find  the  gate, 
because  they  stand  in  their  own  hght.  Others  think  to 
pass  through  the  gates  of  other  men's  merits  :  as  well  one 
bird  may  fly  with  another  bird's  wings.  For  all  those  hot 
promises  of  the  works  of  saints  for  their  ready  money,  they 
may  blow  their  naUs  in  heU. 

Only  grace  is  the  gate.  Per  portam  eccelesice  intramus  ad 
portam  Paradisi  (Aug.  Serm.  136  de  Temp).  We  must  be 
true  members  of  the  Church,  or  the  door  of  life  will  be  shut 
against  us.  Heaven  is  a  glorious  place,  therefore  reserved 
for  gracious  men.  Admittuntur  ad  spiritus  justorum,  non  nisi 
justi.  To  those  "  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,"  Heb.  xii. 
23,  must  be  admitted  none  save  they  that  are  justified.  Kings 
are  there  the  company  :  none  of  base  and  ignoble  lives  can  be 
accepted.  Heaven  is  the  great  Whitehall,  the  court  of  the 
high  King ;  none  are  entertained  but  Alhi,  such  as  are  washed 
white  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  keep  white  their  own  in- 
nocence. Ungracious  offenders  look  for  no  dwelling  in  this 
glory.  You  that  have  so  httle  love  to  the  gates  are  not 
worthy  the  city.  K  you  will  not  pass  through  the  gates  of 
holiness  in  this  life,  you  must  not  enter  the  city  of  happiness 
in  the  life  to  come.  Thus  we  have  passed  the  gates,  and 
are  now  come  to 

The  City. 

Now  if  I  had  been  with  Paul,  rapt  up  to  the  third  heaven, 
2  Cor.  xii.  2,  or  had  the  "  angel's  reed  wherewith  he 
measured  the  wall,"  Rev.  xxi.  17,  I  might  say  something  to 
the  desci-iption  of  this  city.  But  how  can  darkness  speak 
of  that  light  ?  or  the  base  countrj'  of  earth  describe  the  glo- 
rious court  of  heaven  ?  "  Glorious  things  are  spoken  of 
thee,  O  city  of  God,"  Psal.  lxxx\Ti.  3.  Glorious  cities  have 
been,  and  are  in  the  world.  Rome  was  eminently  famous  ; 
all  her  citizens  like  so  many  kings  ;  yet  was  it  observed,  iUic 
homines  mori,  that  men  did  die  there.    But  in  this  city  there 


THE  PASSAGE  TO  PARADISE. 


108 


is  no  dying.  Mors  non  erit  ultra.  "  There  shall  be  no 
more  deathi"  Rev.  xxi.  4.  I  will  narrow  up  my  discourse, 
to  consider  in  this  city  only  three  things. 

! Situation. 
Society. 
Glory. 

The  Situation. 

It  is  placed  above  ;  "  Jerusalem  which  is  above  is  free, 
the  mother  of  us  all,"  Gal.  iv.  26.  Heaven  is  in  excelsis. 
"  His  foundation  is  in  the  holy  mountains,"  Psal.  Ixxxvii.  1. 
So  was  Jerusalem  seated  on  earth,  to  figure  this  city  ;  built 
on  the  "  Quarry  of  heaven,"  Dan.  ii ;  "  on  sapphires,  eme- 
ralds, and  chrj-soUtes,"  Rev.  xxi.  There  is  a  heaven  now 
over  our  heads,  but  it  shall  "  wax  old  as  a  garment,"  Heb. 
i.  1 1 .  It  is  corruptible,  and  so  combustible.  This  city  is 
eternal ;  Mount  Sion,  never  to  be  moved ;  a  kingdom  never 
to  be  shaken.  We  are  now  under  this  lower  heaven,  then 
this  shall  be  under  us.  That  which  is  our  canopy,  shall  be 
our  pavement. 

The  Society. 

The  king  that  rules  there,  is  one  Almighty  God,  in  three 
distinct  persons.  He  made  this  city  for  himself.  "  In  his 
presence  is  the  fulness  of  joy,  apd  pleasures  at  his  right  hand 
for  evermore,"  Psal.  xvi.  11.  If  he  gave  such  a  house  as 
this  world  is,  to  his  enemies,  what,  may  we  think,  hath  he 
provided  for  himself  and  his  friends  ?  But  will  God  dwell 
there  alone  ?  He  is  never  alone  ;  himself  is  to  himself  the 
best  and  most  excellent  company.  Nevertheless,  he  vouch- 
safes a  dwelUng  here  to  some  citizens,  and  these  are  either 
created  so,  assumed,  or  assigned. 

1.  Created  citizens  are  the  blessed  angels ;  who,  from 
their  first  creation,  have  enjoyed  the  freedom  of  this  city. 
They  stand  always  in  the  presence  of  God  ;  they  can  never 
lose  their  happmess 

2.  Assumed  ;  those  whose  spirits  are  already  in  heaven. 


104  IIKAVEN-GATE  ;  OR, 

There  "  are  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,"  Heb. 
xii.  23.  They  are  already  in  soul  taken  up,  and  made  free 
denizens  of  this  city 

3.  Assigned  ;  the  elect  that  live  in  the  militant  church, 
•waiting  for  the  day  of  their  body's  redemption  ;  crj  ing  still, 
Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly.  These  are  conscript!, 
"written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life,"  Rev.  xxi.  27.  Xow 
though  we  are  not  already  in  full  possession,  because  our  ap- 
prenticeship of  this  life  is  not  out ;  yet  we  are  already  citi- 
zens. "  Ye  are  no  more  strangers  and  foreigners,  but  fellow- 
citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God," 
Ephes.  ii.  19  ;  and  we  have  three  happyprivileges  of  citizens. 

1 .  Libertas ;  ireedom  from  the  law,  not  from  obedience  to 
it,  but  from  the  curse  of  it.  Prcestemus  quod  possumus :  quod 
non  possumus,  non  damnahit.  Let  us  keep  so  much  of  it  as 
we  can  ;  what  we  cannot  keep  shall  not  condemn  us.  Liberty 
in  the  use  of  these  earthly  things  ;  heaven,  earth,  air,  sea, 
with  all  their  creatures,  do  us  service.  "  Whether  things 
present,  or  things  to  come,  all  are  yours  ;  and  ye  are  Christ's, 
and  Christ  is  God's,"  1  Cor.  iii.  22. 

2.  Tutela  imperii ;  the  king's  protection,  Angelis  mandavit. 
"  He  hath  given  his  angels  charge  over  us,  to  keep  us  in  all 
our  ways,"  Psal.  xci.  11.  Is  this. all?  No.  "He  covers  us 
with  his  feathers,  and  under  his  wings  do  we  trust ;  his  truth 
is  our  shield  and  our  buckler,"  ver.  4.  Our  dangers  are 
many  in  some  places,  and  some  in  all  places  ;  we  have  God's 
own  guard  royal  to  keep  us.  They  "  are  sent  from  God  to 
minister  for  their  sakes,  which  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation," 
Heb.  i.  14.  I  need  not  determine  whether  every  particu- 
lar person  hath  his  particular  angel.  Saint  Augustine  hath 
well  answered,  "  Quando  hoc  nesciatur  sine  crimine,  non  opus 
est  ut  definiatur  cum  discrimine,"  (Enchirid,  cap.  59.)  Since 
our  ignorance  is  no  fault,  let  us  not  trouble  ourselves  with 
curious  discussion.  Bernard  directs  us  to  a  good  use  of  it. 
"  Quantum  debet  hoc  tibi  ivfcrre  reverentiam,  afferre  derotionem, 
conferre  Jiduciam,"  (Bem.)  The  consideration  of  the  guard 
of  angels  about  us,  should  put  into  our  minds  reverence, 
into  our  hearts  devotion,  into  our  souls  confidence. 


THE  PASSAGE  TO  PARADISE. 


105 


3.  Defensio  Legis,  the  defensive  protection  of  the  law. 
Christ  is  our  Advocate.  "Who  shall  lay  any  thing  to  the 
charge  of  God's  elect  ?  It  is  God  that  justifieth,"  Rom.  viii. 
33.  ^\e  are  impleaded ;  Paul  appeals  to  Caesar,  we  to 
Christ.  The  DevU  accuseth  us,  we  are  far  remote  :  Be- 
hold our  counsellor  is  in  heaven,  that  will  not  let  our 
cause  fall,  or  be  overthrown.  "  If  any  man  sin,  we  have 
an  Advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous," 
1  John  ii.  1. 

Thus  are  we  citizens  in  present,  shall  be  more  perfectly 
at  last.  We  have  now  right  to  the  city ;  we  shall  then 
have  right  in  the  city.  We  have  now  a  purchase  of  the 
possession,  shall  then  have  a  possession  of  the  purchase. 
"  Father,  I  will  that  they"  (this  is  our  Saviour's  me)  "  be 
with  me  where  I  am,  that  they  may  behold  my  glory,  which 
thou  hast  given,"  John  xvii.  24.  Will  and  testament, 
and  shall  not  be  broken. 

The  company  then  adds  to  the  glory  of  this  city.  We 
are  loath  to  leave  this  world  for  love  of  a  few  friends,  sub- 
ject to  mutual  dislikes ;  but  what  then  is  the  delight  in  the 
society  of  saints  ?  where  thy  glorified  self  shall  meet  with 
thy  glorified  friends,  and  your  love  shall  be  as  everlasting  as 
your  glory.  There  be  those  angels  that  protected  thee  ; 
those  patriarchs,  prophets,  apostles,  mart}TS,  that  by  doc- 
trine and  example  taught  thee  ;  yea,  there  is  that  blessed 
Saviour  that  redeemed  thee.  Often  here  with  groans  and 
tears  thou  seekest  him,  whom  thy  soul  loveth  ;  lo,  there  he 
shall  never  be  out  of  thy  sight. 

The  Glory. 

The  glory.  Non.  mild  si  centum  linguce.  If  I  had  a  hundred 
tongues,  I  would  not  be  able  to  discourse  thoroughly  the  least 
drachm  of  that  inestimable  weight  of  glory.  The  eye  hath  seen 
much,  the  ear  hath  heard  more,  and  the  heart  hath  con- 
ceived most  of  all.  But  "  no  eye  hath  seen,  nor  ear  heard, 
nor  heart  apprehended  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared 
for  them  that  love  him,"  1  Cor.  ii.  9.  Augustine,  after  a 
stand,  Deiis  habet  quod  exhibeat  (In  Joh.  Hom.  3).  God 


106  HEAVEN-GATE  ;  OK 

hath  something  to  bestow  on  you.  If  I  say,  we  shall  be 
satiate,  you  will  think  of  loathing  ;  if  we  shall  not  be  satiate, 
you  ivill  think  of  hunger.  But  ibi  nec  fames,  nec  fastidium: 
there  is  neither  hunger  nor  loathing.  Sed  Bern  hahet  quod 
exhibeat.  No  sooner  is  the  soul  within  those  gates,  but  she 
is  glorious.  Simikm  sibi  r'eddit  ingredientein.  Heaven  shall 
make  them  that  enter  it,  like  itself,  glorious :  as  the  air  by 
the  sun's  brightness  is  transformed  bright.  Quanta  fceli- 
citas,  ubi  nullum  erit  malum,  nullum  deerit  bonumJ  How 
great  is  that  blessedness,  where  shall  be  no  evil  present,  no 
good  absent !    This  is  a  blessed  city. 

Men  are  ambitious  here,  and  seek  to  be  free  of  great 
cities,  and  not  seldom  buy  it  dearer  than  the  captain  bought 
his  burgeship.  But  no  such  honour  as  to  be  denizens  of 
this  city  ;  whereof  once  made  free,  how  contemptibly  they 
will  look  at  the  vain  endeavours  of  wordly  men  !  Think, 
beloved  ;  yea,  know  how  sweet  soever  the  gains  of  this  lower 
city  be,  it  is  yet  far  short  of  the  gains  of  heaven.  And  you 
will  one  day  sa}-,  there  is  no  city  like  to  the  city  of  God,  where 
"  shall  be  no  more  death,  nor  sorrow,  nor  crying,  nor  any 
more  pain,"  Rev.  xxi.  4.  Death,  with  all  his  apparitors, 
that  cites  the  whole  world  to  his  court,  sorrow,  crying,  pain, 
shall  be  no  more.  "  They  shall  persecute  you  from  city 
to  city,"  Matt.  x.  23,  saith  Christ,  till  at  last  we  come  to 
this  city,  and  then  out  of  their  reach. 

O  that  this  clay  of  ours  should  come  to  such  honour ! 
Well  may  we  suffer  it  to  endure  the  world's  tyranny,  and  to 
be  afflicted  by  the  citizens  thereof;  alas,  we  are  but  ap- 
prentices, and  they  will  use  us  hardly  till  our  years  be  out. 
When  that  day  comes,  we  shall  be  free  possessors  of  this 
city. 

You  hear  now  the  gate  and  the  dty,  what  should  yea  do 
but  enter  ?  Pass  through  the  gate  of  grace,  a  holy  and 
sanctified  life,  and  you  shall  not  fail  of  the  city  of  glorj' ; 
whither  once  entered,  you  shall  sing  as  it  is  in  the  psalm, 
Sicut  audivimus,  ita  et  vidimus.  As  we  have  heard,  so  have 
we  seen  in  the  city  of  our  God.  AVe  see  that  now  which 
was  preached  to  us  ;  yea,  and  ten  thousand  times  more  than 


THE  PASSAGE  TO  PARADISE. 


107 


ever  could  be  uttered.  You  shall  say  to  Christ,  as  the 
Queen  of  Sheba  to  Solomon,  "  I  heard  much  of  thy  glory  ; 
but,  behold,  the  one  half  was  not  told  me,"  1  Kings  x.  7. 
You  saw  Jerusalem  before  in  a  map,  now  you  shall  walk 
through  the  streets,  and  observe  the  towers  and  bulwarks, 
fully  contemplate  the  glory.  But  my  discourse  shall  give 
way  to  your  meditation.  The  joys  are  boundless,  endless  : 
the  Lord  make  us  free  of  thb  city.  Amea. 


MAJESTY  IN  MISERY; 

THE  POWER  OF   CHRIST   EVEN  DYING 


MAJESTY  IN  MISERY 


OB, 

THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST  EVEN  DYING. 

"  And  behold  the  rait  of  the  Temple  was  rent  in  twain,  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  i 
and  the  earth  did  quake,  and  the  roclis  rent :  and  the  graves  were  opened,  and  many 
bodies  of  saints  which  slept,  arose."— 3fall*.  iivil.  51. 

In  the  lowest  depth  of  Christ's  humiliation,  God  never 
left  him  without  some  evident  and  eminent  testimony  of  his 
divine  power.  He  hangs  here  on  the  cross  dying,  yea 
dead ;  his  enemies  insulting  over  him,  where  is  now  his 
God?  "  Khe  be  able  to  save  us,  let  him  save  himself." 
He  bears  not  only  the  wrath  of  God,  but  even  the  reproach 
of  men.  Yet  even  now  shall  his  divinity  appear,  and  break( 
like  a  glorious  sun  through  these  clouds  of  misery.  Hej 
rends  the  vail,  shakes  the  earth,  breaks  the  stones,  raiseth  the 
dead. 

These  two  verses  stand  gloriously  adorned  with  four 
miracles. 

1.  "  The  vail  of  the  temple  was  rent  in  twain."  You 
will  say,  perhaps,  the  substance  of  it  was  not  so  strong,  but 
an  easy  force  might  rend  it.  But,  verse  50,  Christ  was 
dead  before,  or  died  at  that  very  instant.  It  was  above 
nature  that  a  dying,  yea  a  dead  man,  crucified  in  so  remote 
a  place  from  it,  should  rend  the  vail  tvithin  the  temple. 

2.  The  earth  did  quake.  Say  the  vail  of  less  substance,  yet 
the  huge  body  of  the  earth  will  try  a  man's  strength.  In 
vain  should  silly  man  contend  with  that  which  shall  devour 
him.  He  cannot  move  the  earth,  the  earth  shall  remove 
him,  from  walking  alive  on  it,  to  lie  dead  in  it.    Behold  the 


112  MAJESTY  IN  MISERY  ;  OR, 

power  of  Christ ;  Terram  movet,  he  makes  the  vast  body  of 
the  earth  to  tremble. 

3.  The  rocks  rent.  WUl  any  yet  say,  natural  causes  can 
shake  the  earth  ?  then  let  their  maUcious  cavil  be  choked 
with  this  third  miracle  beyond  exception ;  he  breaks  the 
stones,  not  little  stones,  but  huge  massy  rocks. 

4.  Lastly,  to  stop  the  mouth  of  all  adversaries  to  his  di- 
vine power,  he  raiseth  up  the  dead.  Suscitare  mortuos  e 
sepulchro,  is  only  proper  to  God.  "  No  man  can  give  a 
ransom  to  God  for  his  brother,  that  he  should  live  for  ever, 
and  not  see  corruption,"  Psalm  xlLx.  7,  9.  How  much  less, 
when  he  is  dead,  recover  him  to  life  again.  Here  was  the 
finger  of  God.    Now  to  proceed  in  order  with  the  miracles. 

1.  Miracle. — Tlte  vail  of  the  temple,  &c.  This  vail 
was  the  partition  betwixt  the  Sanctum  Sanctorum  (Holy  of 
Holies),  and  the  Sanctum  (the  holy  place),  as  it  might  be 
the  upper  part  of  the  quire.  "  Into  this  went  the  high 
priest  alone  once  every  year,  not  without  blood,  which  he 
offered  for  himself,  and  for  the  errors  of  the  people,"  Heb. 
ix.  7.  By  the  rending  of  this  vail  were  many  things  pre- 
signified. 

1.  This  serves  for  a  confirmation  of  that  Christ  spoke  on 
the  cross  ;  "  It  is  finished."  The  rending  of  the  vail  doth 
actually  echo  to  his  words,  and  indeed  fulfils  them.  Here 
is  an  end  put  to  all  the  sacrifices  and  ceremonies  of  the  law. 
In  the  New  Testament  is  one  only  real  and  royal  sacrifice, 
Christ  crucified.  This  was  that  object  whereimto  all  those 
rites  looked  ;  and  to  them  all  there  is  now  given  a  consum- 
matum  est.  So  that  now  ceremonia  mortua,  lex  morti/era: 
Ceremonies  are  dead,  and  the  law  of  them  deadly.  No- 
vum Testamentum  latet  in  veteri,  Vctus  patet  in  novo.  The 
gospel  lay  hidden  under  the  law,  the  law  is  complete  in  the" 
gospel.  "  Now  after  that  you  have  known  God  in  his  gos- 
pel, how  turn  you  again  to  the  weak  and  beggarly  elements, 
whereunto  you  desire  again  to  be  in  bondage?"  Gal.  iv.  9. 
God's  service  is  now  simple  and  plain ;  "in  spirit  and 
truth,"  John  iv.  23. 


THE  POWKll  OF  CHUIST  EVKN  DYING.  113 

Christ  is  said  to  be  the  end  of  the  law  :  the  moral  law  he 
kept  himself  sincerely,  and  satisfied  for  our  breaches  of  it 
thoroughly.  The  ceremonial  was  referred  to  him,  performed 
of  him,  fulfilled  in  him,  extinguished  by  him.  They  had  all 
Vigorem  a  Christo,  relationem  ad  Chiistum,  consummaiionem 
in  Christo :  (Their  efficacy  from  Christ,  relation  to  Christ, 
consummation  in  Christ.)  lie  gave  them  their  beginning, 
he  hath  also  given .  them  their  end.  The  vail  rent,  to  wit- 
ness the  cancelling  of  that  ritual  obligation.  "  Christ  hath 
blotted  out  the  handwriting  of  ordinances  that  was  against 
us,  nailing  it  to  his  cross,"  Col.  ii.  14.  That  moment  was 
their  last  gasp,  they  expired  with  Christ.  But  did  all  ce- 
remonies then  utterly  die  ?  No :  some  were  tj'pical,  pre- 
figuring Christ ;  those  are  dead.  Some  are  for  decency  and 
order,  adminicula  devotionis  (mere  pendicles  of  devotion)  ; 
these  are  dead.  The  law  of  Jewish  ceremonies  is  abolished, 
but  some  must  be  retained.  Christ  came  not  to  dissolve 
order.  Men  consist  of  bodies  as  well  as  souls  ;  and  God 
must  be  served  with  both ;  now  bodies  cannot  serve  God 
without  external  rites  ;  the  spouse  of  Christ  cannot  be  with- 
out her  borders  and  laces.  Of  necessity  there  must  be 
some  outward  observances,  but  thus  qualified  :  That  they  be 
for  number  few,  for  signification  plain,  for  observation  sim- 
ple ;  far  from  ostentation,  farther  from  superstition.  Christ, 
his  spouse,  must  not  flaunt  it  like  a  harlot,  but  be  soberly 
attired  like  a  grave  matron.  Ceremonice  quasi  caremonice; 
ceremonies  are  so  called,  because  they  were  ordained  to 
supply  the  defects  of  our  nature  ;  because  we  could  not  serve 
God  in  that  simplicity  we  ought,  therefore  we  have  these 
helps.  Hence  it  is  that  the  nearer  to  perfection  the  fewer 
ceremonies  ;  as  it  were,  the  more  light  the  less  shadow.  In 
the  law  were  abundant  ceremonies,  in  the  gospel  far  fewer, 
in  heaven  none  at  all. 

This  condemns  the  church  of  Rome  for  a  glorious  harlot, 
because  she  loads  herself  with  such  a  heap  of  gaudy  cere- 
monies ;  and  their  mass  for  mere  idolatry,  which  they  be- 
lieve to  be  a  real  propitiatory  sacrifice  of  Christ,  made  by 
the  priests  for  the  sins  of  quick  and  dead.    This  is  to  build 


114  MAJESTY  IN  MISERY  ;  OR, 

up  the  vail  here  rent  in  pieces,  and  to  accuse  Christ  of  lake- 
hood  in  his  consummalum.  est  (his  last  saying.  It  is  finished.) 
Is  an  end  put  to  them,  and  shall  they  still  retain  them ;  yea, 
obtrude  them  as  principal  parts  of  God's  service ;  yea,  wor- 
ship them,  yea,  bind  men's  consciences  to  them  on  pain  of 
damnation  ?  Therefore  they  are  liable  to  the  censure  of  Au- 
gustine, who  calls  such  Inipios  sepulturcB  violatores  ;  diggers 
into  the  graves  of  the  dead  for  putrefied  and  rotten  reUcs. 
Yea,  to  the  judgment  of  God,  who  saith,  "  If  ye  be  dead 
with  Christ  from  the  rudiments  of  the  world  ;  why,  as  though 
living  in  the  world,  are  ye  subject  to  ordinances,  after  the 
commandments  and  doctrines  of  men?  "  Col.  ii.  20,  22.  They 
will  say,  Dicit  Papa  sanxit  concilium,  thus  saith  the  Pope, 
thus  decrees  the  Council ;  but  we.  Dixit  Dominus  non  dona- 
tus :  we  hear  what  the  Lord  says  in  his  Scripture  concerning 
the  law  of  ceremonies,  not  what  is  said  by  mere  men. 

2.  The  second  thing  signified  by  the  rending  the  vail  is 
this  :  The  holy  of  holies,  figured  the  third  heaven,  where  God 
showeth  himself  in  glory  and  majesty  to  his  saints.  Solo- 
mon's temple  had  in  it  three  courts ;  an  outer  court  where- 
into  the  people  were  admitted ;  an  inner  court  wherein  only 
the  priests  and  Levites  entered  ;  an  inmost  of  all,  where- 
into  the  high  priest  alone  entered,  and  that  but  once  a-year, 
and  this  was  called  Sanctum  sanctorum.  So  there  is  a  three- 
fold heaven :  First,  the  elementary  heaven,  wherein  arc 
clouds,  winds,  rain,  dew  ;  and  the  birds  are  called  the  birds 
of  heaven,  that  is,  of  this  elementarj'  heaven.  The  second 
is  the  starry  heaven  ;  so  the  sun  is  said  to  "  go  from  the 
end  of  heaven,  and  his  circuit  unto  the  ends  of  it,"  Ps.  xix. 
6.  The  last  is  the  glorious  heaven,  the  habitation  of  God 
himself;  and  this  was  signified  by  the  holy  of  hohes.  The 
vail  signified  the  flesh  of  Christ ;  the  rending  of  the  vail 
the  crucifying  of  Christ  ;  by  this  is  made  an  entrance 
into  that  Sanctum  sanctorum,  the  heaven  of  glor)-.  So 
expressly  :  "  Having  therefore  boldness  to  enter  into  the 
holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus  ;  by  a  new  and  h^^ng  way 
which  he  hath  consecrated  for  us,  through  the  vail,  that  is 
to  say,  his  flesh,"  Heb.  x.  19.    Heaven-gate  was  shut  up 


TllK  POWEll  OF  CUEIST  EVEN  DYING.  115 

by  our  sins ;  none  but  our  highest  and  holiest  Priest  had 
passage  thither ;  but  he  rent  the  vail,  suffered  his  body  to 
be  torn  by  death,  that  he  might  give  us  an  entrance.  Paul, 
speaking  of  the  legal  use  of  that  holiest  place  in  the  temple, 
saith  thus  :  "  The  Holy  Ghost  this  signifying,  that  tlie  way 
into  the  holiest  of  all  was  not  yet  made  manifest,  while  as 
the  first  tabernacle  was  yet  standing,"  Heb.  ix.  8.  But 
now,  by  Christ's  rending  the  vail,  Palet  aid  janua  cceli, 
the  way  of  salvation  is  opened.  Let  this  reach  forth  to  us 
two  comforts. 

1.  There  is  no  fear  to  be  shut  out  of  heaven  if  thou  have 
faith  in  Christ ;  for  to  thee  is  the  vail  rent,  the  separation 
is  abolished,  Christ  is  crucified.  For  so,  saith  St  Peter, 
"  an  entrance  shall  be  ministered  unto  you  abundantly  into 
the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,"  2  Pet.  i.  11.  Indeed,  to  unbelievers  and  h}'po- 
crites,  to  worldly  wolves  and  luxurious  goats,  the  vail  is  up 
still.  How  should  they  enter  the  Sanctum  sanctorum,  that 
never  approached  the  Sanctum  ?  How  shall  they  see  the 
glory  of  God,  who  would  never  entertain  the  grace  of  God? 
No  :  to  these  there  are  inaccessible  bars,  and  cherubima  with 
flaming  swords,  to  forbid  their  entrance.  But  to  every  good 
and  faithful  servant  the  vail  is  taken  away ;  and  Christ  says, 
"  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord,"  Matt.  xxv.  21. 

2.  By  this  means  we  have  in  this  world  a  free  access  to 
the  throne  of  grace  by  our  prayers  ;  the  vail  and  separation 
of  sin  and  wrath  is  rent  asunder  by  Christ,  and  a  clear  way 
made  for  our  supplications.  The  propitiatory  and  mercy- 
seat,  the  cherubiras  of  glory  shadowing  it,  the  very  presence 
of  God  were  within  the  holiest ;  and  the  people  might  not 
approach  it,  but  stood  without  afar  off:  our  Saviour  hath 
torn  away  this  vail,  and  opened  to  our  petitions  a  free  passage 
to  the  seat  of  mercy  in  heaven.  "  Having  such  an  high 
priest  over  the  house  of  God,"  saith  Paul,  immediately  after 
the  clearing  our  way  through  the  vail,  "  let  us  draw  near 
with  a  true  heart,  in  full  assurance  of  faith,"  &c.  Heb.  x. 
21,  22.  We  see  how  fiir  our  prerogative  excels  that  of  the 
Jews.    They  were  servants,  we  are  sons,  and  cry  "Abba, 


116  MAJESTY  IN  MISEHY;  OR, 

Father  ;"  they  had  priests,  we  are  priests  ;  they  had  a  bar, 
to  us  that  vail  is  rent  away.  "  Let  us  therefore  come 
boldly  unto  the  throne  of  grace,  that  we  may  obtain  mercy, 
and  find  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need,"  Heb.  iv.  16.  This 
is  singular  comfort,  that  poor  subjects  may  be  sure  of  access 
to  the  Iving  with  their  petitions ;  yea,  more,  be  heard  in  all 
their  desires ;  yea,  most  of  all,  have  an  Advocate  at  the  King's 
right  hand  to  plead  their  cause.  But  then  remember  the 
Psalmist's  caution  :  "  K  I  regard  wickedness  in  my  heart, 
the  Lord  will  not  hear  me,"  Ps.  lx\-i.  18.  Let  the  servants 
of  Baal  cry  never  so  loudly,  if  lewdly,  their  prayers  are  not 
heard.  To  the  cries  of  unfaithful  sinners  the  vail  is  up 
still ;  and,  like  a  thick  cloud,  reverberates  and  beats  back 
their  orisons,  that  they  cannot  ascend  to  the  throne  of 
grace.  Only  faith  makes  a  free  passage  ;  and  a  clear  con- 
science hath  a  clear  voice  that  can  pierce  heaven. 

3.  The  breaking  down  of  this  vail  did  make  the  hohest 
and  the  other  part  of  the  temple  all  one ;  whereby  was 
signified,  that  of  two  was  made  one,  Jews  and  Gentiles  one 
church.  "  He  is  our  peace,  who  hath  made  both  one,  and 
hath  broken  down  the  middle  wall  of  partition  between  us," 
Eph.  ii.  14.  So  that  now  those,  the  Jews,  called  dogs, 
eat  the  bread  of  the  children,  yea,  they  are  the  children  ;  and 
"  Japhetis  persuaded  to  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem,"  Gen. 
ix.  27.  She  is  also  beloved  that  was  hated  ;  even  the 
church  of  the  Gentiles  is  the  spouse  of  Christ.  The  vail 
that  hindered,  Paul  calls  the  "  law  of  commandments, 
contained  in  ordinances  ;"  this  "  he  abolished,  for  to  make  in 
himself,  of  twain,  one  new  man,"  Eph.  ii.  15.  Heaven- 
gate  is  no  wider  open  to  a  Jew  than  to  a  Grecian.  "  In 
Christ  Jesus  neither  circumcision  availeth  an}thing,  nor  un- 
cLrcumcision,  but  a  new  creature.  And  as  many  as  walk 
according  to  this  rule,  peace  be  on  them,  and  mercy,  and 
upon  the  Israel  of  God,"  Gal.  vi.  16.  The  sun  of  the  gos- 
pel, as  of  the  world,  is  not  confined  to  lighten  Judea  only, 
but  shines  universally.  There  is  not  one  privilege  where- 
in the  Gentle  hath  not  as  frank  a  share  as  the  Jew  ;  the 
sons  of  Hagar  are  adopted  the  sons  of  God  ;  and  the  free 


THE  POWER  OP  CHRIST  EVEN  DYING.  117 

"  Jerusalem  above  is  the  mother  of  us  all,"  Gal.  iv.  26. 
All  this  did  our  blessed  Saviour  work  for  us  by  rending  the 
vail ;  "  that  he  might  reconcile  both  unto  God  in  one  body 
by  the  cross,  having  slain  the  enmity  thereby,"  Eph.  ii.  16. 

Oh  then  let  us  "  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond 
of  peace !"  Christ  hath  made  us  at  one ;  let  us  not  make  our- 
selves twain.  The  vail  is  rent,  why  set  we  up  new — schisms 
in  doctrine,  jars  in  conversation  ?  The  bill  of  divorcement 
is  cancelled ;  let  us  love  our  husband  Christ,  and,  for  his 
sake,  every  man  his  brother.  Let  us  set  up  no  more  vails, 
lest  we  do  it  with  the  curse  of  building  more  Jerichos. 
There  is  no  bond  so  sure  as  religion  ;  no  ligaments  so  strong 
as  faith  and  a  good  conscience.  Wretched  man,  that  breakest 
these  ties,  and  rendest  thyself  from  them,  to  whom  thou  art 
by  Christ  imitcd  :  a  mother's,  yea,  a  father's  blessing,  forsakes 
thee  ;  and  thou  buildest  up  a  new  vail,  which  thou  must  look 
for  no  more  Christs  to  come  and  rend  asunder ! 

4.  The  rending  of  the  vail  teacheth  us,  that  when  men 
sin  rebelliously  against  God,  no  prerogative  shall  do  them 
good.  The  temple  was  one  of  theii*  most  principal  privi- 
leges, their  glory,  their  crown.  "  The  temple  of  the  Lord, 
the  temple  of  the  Lord,"  Jer.  vii.  4.  It  was  a  figure  of  the 
Church  militant,  as  Solomon  the  builder  was  a  figure  of 
Christ.  For  this  temple's  sake,  God  often  spared  them.  So 
Daniel  prays,  "  Cause  thy  face  to  shine  upon  thy  sanctuary, 
that  is  desolate,"  Dan.  ix.  17.  Yet  when  they  fall  away 
from  God,  and  crucify  their  Messiah,  this  prerogative  helps 
not.  For  here  God's  own  hand  rends  the  vail,  and  after 
gives  the  whole  fabric  a  spoil  to  the  Gentiles.  "  If  ye  will 
not  hear,  if  ye  will  not  lay  it  to  heart,  I  will  send  a  curse 
upon  you,  I  will  curse  your  blessings  ;  yea,  I  have  cursed 
them  already,  because  you  do  not  lay  it  to  heart,"  MaJ.  ii, 
2.  It  lies  in  man's  sin  to  make  God  curse  his  very  bless- 
ings, and  to  punish  the  guilty  in  the  innocent  creatures. 

We  see  the  way  how  we  may  lose  temples,  and  peace, 
and  gospel,  and  all  privileges,  by  running  the  courses  of 
disobedience.  Who  can  number  the  blessings  we  have  en- 
joyed by  the  gospel  ?    Let  us  beware  lest  our  ungracious 


118  MAJESTY  IN  MISERY  ;  OR, 

and  ungrateful  lives  rob  us  not  of  that,  with  all  the  appertinent 
comforts.  They  that  have  travelled  the  Belgic  provinces 
can  -witness  the  miserable  footsteps  of  vrar,  and  the  tyranny 
of  desolation.  Churches  and  cities  have  no  more  monu- 
ments but  the  ruined  foundations  to  testify  that  they  were. 
Sin  made  way  for  blood  and  massacre  ;  idolatry  pulled  down 
those  walls,  which,  otherwise,  the  most  sacrilegious  hand 
should  have  forborne.  If  there  had  been  no  enemy  to  raze 
them,  they  would  have  fallen  alone,  rather  than  covered  so 
blasphemous  impiety  under  their  guilty  roofs.  "Peace  is 
within  our  walls,  and  prosperity  within  our  palaces"  (Psal. 
cxxii.  7)  ;  blessed  for  ever  be  our  God  of  peace  for  it !  Yet 
we  have  a  subtle  adversary,  Sacrilege,  that  encroacheth  sore 
upon  us,  and  "  hath  taken  many  of  God's  houses  in  posses- 
sion," Psal.  Ixxxiii.  12.  We  cannot  say,  "  They  have 
burnt  up  all  the  synagogues  in  the  land"  (Psal.  Ixxiv.  8)  ; 
but  they  have  done  very  wickedly  to  the  Lord's  sanctuaries. 
The  walls  stand  ;  and  it  is  well  if  in  many  places  they  do  so  ; 
but  there  is  not  a  Levite  to  feed  the  people.  Alas,  how  can 
there,  when  there  is  nothing  left  to  feed  a  Levite  ?  Covet- 
ousness  would  do  as  much  hurt  with  us,  as  war  hath  done 
with  our  neighbours  :  it  would,  but  I  trust  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
it  shall  not.  Though  they  have  rent  away  God's  right, 
"tithes  and  offerings"  (ilal.  iii.  8),  they  shall  never  rend 
away  God's  truth  and  gospel :  rend  themselves  from  it  in- 
deed they  are  likely  to  do. 

6.  Lastly,  The  vail  was  rent.  By  rending  the  part,  God 
did  threaten  the  subversion  of  the  whole.  If  he  spare  not 
the  holy  of  hoUes,  then  much  less  the  rest.  When  God  had 
commanded,  "  Slay  utterly  old  and  young,  maids  and  chil- 
dren (he  adds  withal),  and  begin  at  my  sanctuarj-,"  Ezek. 
ix.  6.  K  God  begin  at  his  sanctuary,  he  will  not  fail  to 
end  with  the  rest.  If  that  shall  not  escape  being  profaned, 
how  much  less  houses  built  for  riot  and  disorder,  pride  and 
ambition  !  If  the  temple  of  prayers,  then  surely  the  dens  of 
thieves.  "  For,  lo,  I  be^  to  bring  evil  on  the  city  which 
is  called  by  my  name,  and  shall  ye  go  unpunished  V"  saith 
God  to  the  heathen  (Jer.  xxv.  29).      If  the  sacred 


THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST  ETEN  DYING.  119 


things  defiled  by  idolatry  shall  be  subverted,  never  think  that 
your  fair  houses  shall  stand,  when  they  are  made  coverts  of 
oppressions,  and  convents  of  superstition.  When  the  better 
things  are  not  favoured,  the  worst  have  small  hope.  So 
Peter  reasons  :  "  K  judgment  shall  begin  at  the  house  of 
God,  what  shall  be  the  end  of  them  that  obey  not  the  gos- 
pel?" 1  Pet.  iv.  17.  If  the  strong  cedars  in  Lebanon  be 
rooted  up,  woe  to  the  rotten-rooted  poplars  !  If  the  dragon's 
tail  sweep  stars  from  heaven,  what  shall  become  of  squalid 
earthy  vapours  ?  Tlie  temple  was  one  of  the  world's  greatest 
wonders ;  as  curious  a  workmanship  as  sl.x  and  thirty 
years  could  make  it.  It  wanted  not  the  art  of  man ;  yea, 
the  blessing  of  heaven  was  added  to  it.  Yet  now,  lo,  etiam 
pe  iere  ruince,  this  goodly  building  by  sin  was  brought  to 
ruin  ;  yea,  even  the  very  ruins  are  perished.  Sliall,  then, 
your  forts  and  palaces,  worldlings'  paradises,  full  of  rapine, 
empty  of  charity,  stand  against  all  weathers  and  storms  of 
judgment  ?  No,  stone  shall  fall  after  stone  ;  and  ruin  shall 
one  day  tell  the  passengers,  as  God  threatened  of  Jerusalem, 
Here  stood  a  goodly  manor,  a  sumptuous  edifice,  a  royal 
palace.  Or  if  they  fall  not  down  in  themselves,  they  shall 
fall  to  the  owners,  whose  iniquities  have  defiled  them. 

God  punisheth  by  certain  degrees  ;  first  he  rends  the  vail, 
then  rends  away  the  temple.  As  by  David's  hand  he  first 
rent  Saul's  garment,  and  then  rent  away  his  kingdom.  God 
at  first  toucheth  men  lightly,  in  their  goods,  quiet,  health  : 
if  these  stir  not  to  repentance,  he  proceeds  against  the  whole. 
"  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God  ?"  1  Cor.  iii. 
16.  If  you  set  up  in  this  temple  idols,  lusts,  and  evil  affec- 
tions, God  first  rends  the  vail,  toucheth  you  ^vith  some  gentle 
afilictions ;  but  if  you  still  continue  to  make  this  temple  a 
den  of  thieves,  the  temple  itself  will  be  destroyed. 

You  have  heard  the  first  miracle,  the  rending  of  the  vail. 
As  the  Jews  were  wont  to  rend  their  garments  when  they 
heard  blasphemy  against  God,  so  it  may  seem  the  temple 
tore  its  garments,  rent  its  vail  in  pieces,  when  it  heard 
those  execrable  blasphemies  against  the  Son  of  God.  (Theo- 
phylact). 


120  MAJESTY  IN  MISERY  ;  OR, 

2d  Miracle. — The  earth  did  quake.  The  philosophers 
having  given  divers  natural  causes  of  earthquakes,  as  by  hot 
and  dry  exhalations  shut  up  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  and 
laboiuing  for  vent,  resisted  by  the  earth's  solidness,  there 
ensueth  terr(B  motus,  a  shaking  of  the  earth,  &c.  But  this 
was  an  extraordinary  earthquake  ;  for  it  happened  exactly 
at  the  very  instant  of  Christ's  death. 

It  might  be  to  set  forth  the  glory  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  to  vindicate  it  from  inferiority  to  the  old.  The  law 
was  both  given  and  renewed  with  an  earthquake.  Given  to 
the  hand  of  Moses  :  "  The  whole  mount  quaked  greatly," 
Exod.  xix.  18.  As  at  the  giving.  Mount  Sinai,  so  at  the 
renewing.  Mount  Horeb  quaked,  "  As  Elijah  stood  upon 
the  Mount,  there  passed  by  a  strong  wind,  and  after  the 
wind  an  earthquake,"  1  Kings,  xix.  11  ;  so  when  the 
Lord  of  the  Gospel  died,  the  earth  shook,  that  the  ministra- 
tion of  righteousness  might  not  be  less  glorious  than  the  mi- 
nistration of  death,  2  Cor.  iii.  9.  This  miracle  shall  give 
us  a  threefold  instruction. 

1.  To  consider  the  fierceness  of  God's  wrath  against  sins 
and  sinners.  For  God,  by  shaking  the  earth,  did  no  less 
than  threaten  the  utter  subversion  of  those  desperate  and 
bloody  wretches.  Korah  and  his  confederates  were  swal- 
lowed up  of  the  earth  for  rebelling  against  Moses,  the 
Lord's  servant.  Of  how  much  sorer  punishment  were  these 
worthy  that  had  crucified  (not  the  servant,  but)  the  Son  of 
God  ?  Heb.  x.  29.  K  the  mercies  of  God  had  not  been 
gi-eater  than  their  iniquities,  they  had  not  escaped. 

By  this  we  see  how  able  God  is  to  punish  sinners.  He 
shews  what  he  can  do  ;  it  is  his  mercy  that  he  forbears. 
Some  of  these  were  to  be  converted  ;  therefore,  concusn,  non 
excttssi,  moved  not  removed,  shaken  but  not  destroyed.  Os- 
tendisti  populo  gravia,  saith  the  Psalmist.  "  Thou  haft 
shewed  thy  people  hard  things,"  Psal.  Ix.  3.  Shewed,  not 
imposed  ;  shook  the  rod,  not  laid  it  on.  This  forbearance 
of  God  should  lead  us  on  to  repentance,  Eom.  ii.  4.  K 
not,  it  is  but  the  forerunner  of  vengeance.  Though  now 
by  moving  the  earth  he  scare  and  spare  these  Jews,  yet  af- 


THE  POWER  OF  CJiniST  EVEN  DYIXG.  121 

ter  the  earth  spewed  them  out,  as  an  offence  to  her  stomach. 
O  obstinate  hearts  that  quake  not,  when  the  senseless  ground 
quakes  that  bears  so  luiprofitablo  a  burden  !  Cannot  the 
earth  admonish  thee  ?  it  shall  devour  thee.  Si  nun  monebit, 
movebit:  (if  it  cannot  admonish,  it  will  demohsh).  K  the 
Almighty's  hand  stu'ring  it  hath  not  stirred  thee  to  repent- 
ance, a  sexton's  hand  shall  cover  thee  with  moulds  ;  a  weak 
shaker  shall  do  it.  Think  when  God  moves  the  earth,  he 
preacheth  to  thy  soul.  If  thy  heart  (so  little  in  comparison 
of  that  great  vast  body)  will  not  tremble,  know  God  hath 
one  thing  that  shall  shake  thee  to  pieces — Death. 

2.  The  nature  of  sin  is  here  considerable;  so  heavy,  that 
it  makes  the  very  earth  to  quake.  The  Jews'  sins  were  such 
a  burden,  that  the  earth  could  not  bear  them  without  trem- 
bling. The  earth  is  fi.xed,  and  standeth  fast,  saith  the 
Psalmist,  as  the  centre  of  the  world  ;  it  is  strange  that  to  be 
moved,  even  so  strange  is  the  cause  that  moves  it.  It  must 
needs  be  a  monstrous  weight  of  iniquity  that  totters  the 
earth  on  her  foundations.  But  why  is  the  earth  so  quiet 
now  ?  Do  not  innumerable  wretciies  daily  crucify  Christ 
by  their  oaths,  blasphemies,  and  rebellions,  in  himself;  by 
their  persecutions  and  oppressions,  in  his  members  ?  Is  not 
his  word  derided,  his  sacraments  despised,  his  good  crea- 
tures abused?  Why  doth  not  the  earth  shrink  and  shake 
at  these  horrid  impieties  ?  Be  still  ;  he  that  holds  his  hand 
from  miracles,  will  not  hold  it  from  plagues.  They  are  for- 
borne, not  forgiven.  God  keeps  silence,  but  he  sleepeth 
not ;  the  earth  may  spare  them  ;  but  "  desolation  in  a  mo- 
ment shall  swallow  them,"  Psal.  Ixxiii.  19.  To  the  Jews 
the  earth  moved,  and  they  stood  still ;  to  these  the  earth 
shall  stand  still,  and  themselves  shall  be  moved. 

3.  There  is  nothing  on  the  earth  that  is  not  moveable,  if 
the  earth  itself  be  moveable.  "  God  hath  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  the  earth  that  it  should  not  be  moved,"  Psal.  civ.  5. 
Yet  so  that  he  who  laid  it  can  shake  it.  "  He  shakcththe 
earth  out  of  her  place,  and  the  pillars  thereof  tremble,"  Job 
ix.  6.  If  the  earth,  then  whatsoever  is  built  upon  it.  "The 
e.arth  shall  be  burnt,''  saith  Peter.    "What,  alone  ?    No  ; 


122 


MAJESTY  IN  MISEUY  ;  OR, 


"  the  earth,  with  the  works  that  are  therein,  shall  be  burnt 
up,"  2  Pet.  iii.  10.  The  works  of  men's  hands,  the  works  of 
their  brains,  their  very  thoughts  shall  perish.  "  The  Lord's 
voice  shook  the  earth ;  and  he  hath  said.  Yet  once  again  I 
will  shake  not  the  earth  only,  but  also  heaven,"  Heb.  xii. 
26.  O  blessed  place  that  is  not  subject  to  tliis  shaking, 
whose  jo}S  have  not  only  an  amiable  countenance,  but  a 
glorious  continuance.  The  things  that  arc  shaken  shall  be 
removed,  but  the  things  that  are  not  shaken  remain  for  ever. 
All  the  terrors  of  this  world  move  not  him  that  is  fixed  in 
heaven.  "  They  that  put  their  trust  in  the  Lord  shall  be 
as  Mount  Zion,  which  cannot  be  removed,  but  abideth  for 
ever,"  Psal.  cxxv.  1.  But  the  tabernacles  and  hopes  of 
the  wicked  shall  perish  together.  "  For  the  world  passeth 
away,  and  the  lust  thereof ;  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of 
God  abideth  ever,"  1  John  ii.  17.  Whereon,  saith  Augus- 
tine, Quid  visf  Utrum  amare  temporalia,  et  transire  cum 
tempore !  an  amare  Christum,  et  vivere  in  cetemum  f  Whe- 
ther wilt  thou  lo\'e  the  world  and  perish  with  it,  or  love 
Christ  and  live  for  ever  ? 

3d  Miracle. — The  rocks  rent, — ^A  wonderful  act,  to 
break  stones  and  rend  rocks.  This  gives  us  two  observa- 
tions. 

1.  This  did  foresignify  the  power  and  efficacy  of  the  Gos- 
pel, that  it  should  be  able  to  break  the  very  rocks.  As  the 
death  and  passion  of  Christ  did  cleave  those  soUd  and  almost 
impenetrable  substances,  so  the  publishing  of  his  death  and 
passion  shall  rend  and  break  in  pieces  the  rocky  hearts  of 
men.  So  John  Baptist  said :  "  God  is  able  of  stones  to 
raise  up  children  unto  Abraham,"  Matth.  iii.  9.  The  hearts 
of  Zaccheus,  Mary  Magdalene,  Paul,  were  such  rocks ;  yet 
they  were  cleft  with  the  wedge  of  the  Gospel.  This  is  that  rod  of 
Moses  able  to  break  the  hardest  rocks,  till  they  gush  out  with 
floods  of  penitent  tears.  This  is  Jeremiah's  hammer,  power- 
ful to  bruise  the  most  obdurate  hearts.  The  blood  of  the  goat 
sacrificed,  of  force  to  dissolve  adamant.  There  is  power  in 
the  blood  of  Jesus  to  put  sense  mto  stones.    Blessed  are 


THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST  EVEN  DYING.  123 

you  if  you  be  thus  broken-hearted  for  him,  whose  heart  was 
broken  for  you.  For  "  the  broken  heart  the  Lord  will  not 
despise,"  Psal.  li.  17. 

2.  Observe  the  wonderful  hardness  of  the  Jews'  hearts. 
The  stones  rent  and  clave  in  sunder  at  the  cruel  death  of 
Jesus  ;  but  their  hearts,  more  stony  than  stones,  are  no  whit 
moved.  They  rend  not  their  garments,  much  less  their 
hearts  ;  when  as  the  earth  rent  the  stones  her  bones,  and  the 
rocks  her  ribs.  The  flints  are  softer  than  they  ;  the  flints 
break,  they  harden.  They  still  belch  their  malicious  blas- 
phemies ;  the  rocks  relent,  the  stones  are  become  men,  and 
the  men  stones.  O  the  senselessness  of  a  hard  heart ;  rocks 
will  sooner  break  than  that  can  be  mollified.  Even  the 
hardest  creatures  are  flexible  to  some  actions :  flints  to  the 
rain,  ii-on  to  the  fire,  stones  to  the  hammer  ;  but  this  heart 
yields  to  nothing,  neither  the  showers  of  mercy,  nor  the 
hammer  of  reproof,  nor  the  fire  of  judgments  ;  but,  like  the 
stithy,  are  still  the  harder  for  beating.  All  the  plagues  of 
Eg}'pt  cannot  mollify  the  heart  of  Pharaoh.  It  is  wonder- 
ously  unnatural  that  men,  made  the  softest-hearted  of  all, 
should  be  rigidiores  lupis,  duriores  lapidihics,  more  cruel  than 
wolves,  morQ  hard  than  stones.  I  would  to  God  all  hard- 
heartedness  had  died  with  these  Jews  •,  but  it  is  not  so. 
How  often  has  Christ  been  here  crucified,  in  the  word 
preaching  his  cross  to  your  ears,  in  the  sacraments  present- 
ing his  death  to  your  eyes,  think,  think  in  your  own  souls, 
have  not  the  stones  in  the  walls  of  this  church  been  as  much 
moved  ?  God  forbid  our  obdurateness  should  be  punished 
as  theirs  was !  Since  they  would  be  so  stony-hearted,  Jeru- 
salem was  turned  to  a  heap  of  stones,  and  the  conquering 
Romans  dashed  them  pitilessly  against  those  stones  which 
they  exceeded  in  hardness. 

Here  let  the  wicked  see  their  doom :  the  stones  that  will 
not  be  softened  shall  be  broken.  There  is  no  changing  the 
decree  of  God  ;  but  change  thy  nature,  and  then  know 
thou  art  not  decreed  to  death.  Stony  hearts  shall  be  broken 
to  pieces  with  vengeance ;  do  not  strive  to  alter  that  doom, 
but  alter  thy  own  stony  heart  to  a  heart  of  flesh,  and  so 


124  MAJESTY  IN  MISERY  ;  OR, 

prevent  it  in  the  particular.  Wolves  and  goats  shall  not 
enter  into  heaven.  Thou  mayest  pull  stars  out  of  heaven 
before  alter  this  sentence  ;  but  do  it  thus  :  leave  that  na- 
ture, and  become  one  of  Christ's  sheep,  and  then  thou  art 
sure  to  enter.  No  adulterer  nor  covetous  person,  saith 
Paul,  "shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  1  Cor.  \i.  9. 
This  doom  must  stand,  but  not  against  thee,  if  thou  be  convert- 
ed. "  Such  were  ye,  but  ye  are  washed,"  &c.  ver.  11.  You 
are  not  such.  Had  the  Jews  ceased  to  be  stones,  they  had 
been  spared.  God  will  root  thorns  and  briers  out  of  his 
vineyard.  If  thou  wouldst  not  have  him  root  out  thee,  be- 
come a  vine,  and  bring  forth  good  grapes.  God  threatens 
to  break  the  hairy  scalp  of  him  that  goes  on  in  sin  ;  yet 
mayest  thou  ward  this  blow  fi-ora  thyself ;  go  no  further  on 
in  sin.  "When  God  comes  in  judgment  to  visit  the  earth, 
to  shatter  rocks,  and  break  stones  in  pieces,  thou  hast  a  heart 
of  flesh,  mollified  with  repentance.  Let  the  earth  quake, 
and  the  rocks  tear,  thy  faith  hath  saved  thee,  go  in  peace. 

4th  Miracle. — T7ie  graves  were  opened,  and  many  bodies 
of  saints  which  slept  arose.  Concerning  this  two  questions 
are  moved. 

1.  Where  their  souls  were  all  this  while  before.  I  an- 
swer, where  the  scriptures  hath  no  tongue,  we  should  have 
no  ear.  Most  probably  thus  :  their  souls  were  in  heaven, 
in  Abraham's  bosom,  and  came  down  to  their  bodies  by 
divine  dispensation,  to  manifest  the  power  and  deity  of 
Christ. 

2.  AMiither  they  went  afterwards.  I  answer,  by  the  same 
likelihood,  that  they  died  no  more,  but  waited  on  the  earth 
till  Chiist's  resurrection,  and  then  attended  him  to  heaven. 
But  these  things  that  are  concealsd  should  not  be  disputed. 
Tutum  est  ne-scire  quod  tegitur.  It  is  a  safe  ignorance  where 
a  man  is  not  commanded  to  know.  Let  us  see  what  profit- 
able instructions  we  can  hence  derive  to  ourselves.  They 
are  many,  and  therefore  I  will  but  lightly  touch  them. 

1 .  This  teacheth  us,  that  Christ,  by  his  death,  hath  van- 
quished death,  even  in  the  grave,  his  own  chamber.  That 


THE  rOWEU  OF  CHRIST  EVEN  DYIKG. 


125 


giant  is  subdued,  the  graves  fly  open,  the  dead  go  out. 
This  bears  ample  -witness  to  that  speech  of  Christ :  "  I  am 
the  resurrection  and  the  life  ;  he  that  believeth  in  me,  though 
lie  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live,"  John  xi.  25.  The  bodies 
of  the  saints,  what  part  of  the  earth  or  sea  soever  holds  their 
dust,  shall  not  be  detained  in  prison  when  Christ  calls  for 
them,  as  the  members  must  needs  go  when  the  head  draws 
them.  He  shall  speak  to  all  creatures,  Reddite  quod  devo- 
rastis:  restore  whatsoever  of  man  you  have  devoured,  not 
a  dust,  not  a  bone  can  be  denied.  The  bodies  of  the  saints 
shall  be  raised,  saith  Augustine ;  Tanla  facilitate,  quanta 
ftelicitate  (in  Echirid),  with  as  much  easiness  as  happiness. 
Desinunt  ista,  non  penunt :  vwrs  intermittit  vitam,  non  eripit 
(Sen.  Epist.  36).  Our  bodies  are  left  for  a  time,  but  perish 
not ;  death  may  discontinue  life,  not  disannul  it.  Inter- 
mittitur,  non  interimitur  :  it  may  be  paused,  cannot  be  de- 
stroyed. 

2.  Obsei-ve,  that  all  the  dead  do  not  rise,  but  many,  and 
those  saints.  The  general  resurrection  is  reserved  till  the 
last  day  ;  this  is  a  pledge  or  earnest  of  it.  Now,  who  shall  rise 
with  this  comfort  ?  None  but  saints  ;  as  here  Christ  takes 
no  other  company  from  the  graves  but  saints.  "  The  dead 
in  Christ  shall  rise  first,"  1  Thess.  iv.  16.  Christ  is  called 
"  the  first  born  from  the  dead,"  Coloss.  i.  28.  He  hath 
risen,  and  his  shall  next  follow  him.  "  Every  man  in  his 
own  order ;  Christ  the  first  fruits,  afterward  they  that  are 
Christ's  at  his  coming,"  1  Cor.  xv.  23.  "Worms  and  cor- 
ruption shall  not  hinder.  He  that  said  "  to  corruption, 
Thou  art  my  mother  ;  and  to  the  worms,  You  are  my  breth- 
ren and  sisters,"  said  also,  "  I  know  that  my  Redeemer 
liveth,  and  one  day  with  these  eyes  I  shall  behold  him." 
The  wicked  shall  also  be  raised,  though  with  horror,  to 
look  upon  him  whom  they  have  pierced.  But  as  Christ  did 
here,  so  will  he  at  thS  last,  single  out  the  saints  to  bear  him 
company. 

3.  This  sheweth  the  true  operation  of  Christ's  death  in 
all  men.  We  are  all  dead  in  our  sins,  as  these  bodies  were 
in  their  graves  :  now,  when  Christ's  death  becomes  effectual 


126  MAJESTY  IN  MISEKY  ;  OK, 

to  our  souls,  we  rise  again  and  become  new  creatures.  From 
the  grave  of  this  world  we  come  into  the  Church,  the  holy 
city.  But  thou  complainest  of  the  deadness  of  thy  heart : 
it  is  well  thou  complainest :  there  is  some  life,  or  thou  couldst 
not  feel  the  deadness.  "  The  hour  is  coming  and  now  is, 
when  the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and 
they  that  hear  it  shall  live,"  John  v.  25.  If  this  word  hath 
raised  thee  from  death,  and  wrought  spiritual  life  in  thy 
heart,  thou  shalt  perceive  it  by  thy  breathing  words  glori- 
fying God ;  and  by  thy  moving  in  the  ways,  and  to  the 
works  of  obedience. 

4.  Observe  that  these  saints  which  arose  are  said  to 
have  slept.  The  death  of  the  godly  is  often  called  a  sleep. 
So  it  is  said  of  the  patriarchs  and  kings  of  Judah,  they 
slept  with  their  fathers.  So  Paul  saith,  they  "•  sleep  in 
Christ,"  1  Cor.  xv.  1 8.  The  coffin  is  a  couch  ;  In  quo 
moUiiLS  dormit,  qui  bene  in  vita  lahoravit,  wherein  he  takes 
good  rest  that  hath  wi-ouglit  hard  in  the  work  of  his  salva- 
tion before  he  went  to  bed.  Falix  somntts  cum  requie,  requies 
cum  voluptate,  voluptas  cum  aternitate.  It  is  a  sweet  sleep  that 
hath  peace  with  rest,  rest  with  pleasure,  pleasure  ^vith  ever- 
lastingness.  So  the  godly  sleep,  till  the  sound  of  a  trumpet 
shall  wake  them,  and  then  eternal  glor)'  shall  receive  them. 

5.  Lastly,  Observe  tliat  Jerusalem  is  called  the  holy  city, 
though  she  were  at  this  time  a  sink  of  sin,  and  a  debauched 
harlot.  Either  as  some  think  that  she  is  called  holy,  be- 
cause she  was  once  holy.  So  Rahab  is  called  the  harlot, 
because  she  was  a  harlot.  Simon  is  termd  the  leper  (!Matth. 
xxvi.  6),  for  that  he  was  a  leper  ;  and  Matthew  the  pub- 
lican (Matth.  X.  3),  for  that  he  was  a  pubUcan.  Or  else 
she  was  called  holy  for  the  covenant's  sake,  in  regard  of 
the  temple,  sacrifices,  seri-ice  of  God ;  and  of  the  elect 
people  of  God  that  were  in  it.  "Whence  we  may  infer,  how 
unlawful  it  is  to  separate  from  a  -cTlurch  because  it  hath 
some  corruptions.  Is  apostate  Jerusalem  that  hath  cruci- 
fied her  Saviour  called  still  the  holy  city ;  and  must  Eng- 
land, that  departeth  in  nothing  from  the  Aiith  and  doctrine 
of  her  Saviour,  for  some  scarce  discernible  imperfections,  be 


TUE  POWER  OF  CHRIST  EVEX  DYING.  127 


rejected  as  a  foul  strumpet  ?  But  there  be  wicked  persons 
in  it ;  what  then  ?  She  may  be  still  a  holy  city.  Recedatur 
ah  iniquitate,  non  ab  iniqiiis.  Let  us  depart  fi'om  sin,  we 
cannot  run  from  sinners. 

Tlius  we  have  considered  the  Miracles ;  let  us  now  look 
into  the  causes  wherefore  they  were  wrought. 


Tliese  may  be  reduced  into  five. 
In  respect  of 


Tlie  sufferer  dying. 
The  creatures  obej'ing. 
The  Jews  persecuting. 
The  women  beholding. 
The  disciples  forsaking. 


1 .  In  regard  of  Chrust,  to  testify  not  only  his  innocency, 
but  his  majesty.  His  innocency,  that  he  was,  as  Pilate's 
wife  acknowledged,  a  "just  man,"  Matth.  xxvii.  19.  His 
majesty,  as  the  centurion  confessed,  "  seeing  the  earth 
quake,  and  the  things  that  were  done,  Truly  this  was  the 
Son  of  God,"  Matth.  xxvii.  51.  He  seemed  a  worm,  no 
man  :  the  contempt  and  derision  of  tlic  people,  forsaken  of 
his  confidence.  In  the  midst  of  all,  God  will  not  leave  him 
without  witnesses,  but  raiseth  up  senseless  creatures  as 
preachers  of  his  deity.  Est  mtemi  Jilius  qui  illic  pendet 
mortuus.  He  that  hangs  there  dead  on  the  cross  is  the  Son  of 
the  eternal  God.  Rather  than  the  children  of  God  shall 
want  witnesses  of  their  integrity,  God  will  work  miracles  for 
their  testimony. 

2.  In  regard  of  the  Creatures,  to  shew  their  obedience  to 
their  Creator ;  they  are  not  wanting  to  him  that  gave  being 
to  them.  These  demonstrate  it  was  their  Lord  that  suf- 
fered, and  that  they  were  ready  to  execute  vengeance  on 
his  murderers.  The  heaven  that  was  dark  would  have 
rained  fire  on  them ;  the  earth  that  quaked,  shook  them 
to  pieces  ;  the  rocks  that  rent,  would  have  tumbled  on  them  ; 
and  the  graves  that  opened  to  let  out  all  other  prisoners, 
have  swallowed  them  quick.  They  all  waited  but  his  com- 
mand to  perform  this  revengeful  execution.  Who  shall 
now  dare  to  persecute  Christ  in  his  members  ?    The  stones 


1  28  MAJESTY  IN  MISERY  ;  OK, 

are  thy  enemies,  the  earth  gapes  for  thee,  hell  itself  en- 
largeth  her  jaws  ;  if  the  Lord  but  hiss  to  them,  they  are  sud- 
denly in  an  uproar  against  thee.  Go  on  in  your  malice, 
you  raging  persecutors,  you  cannot  wrong  Christ ;  no,  not 
in  his  very  members,  but  you  pull  the  fists  of  all  creatures 
in  heaven,  earth,  and  hell,  about  your  ears  :  flies  from  the 
air,  beasts  from  the  earth,  poison  from  sustenance,  thunder 
from  the  clouds  ;  yea,  at  last  also  (though  now  they  help 
you)  the  very  devils  from  hell  against  you.  All  creatures 
shoot  their  malignancy  at  them  that  shoot  theirs  at  Christ. 

3.  In  respect  of  the  Jews  his  enemies,  to  shame  and 
confound  them.  The  rocks  and  graves  are  moved  at  his 
passion,  not  they.  Lapides  tremunt,  homines  fremnnl.  The 
stones  rent ;  the  huge  earth  quakes  with  fear ;  the  Jews 
rage  with  malice.  ^Ve  see  how  difficult  it  is  to  mollify  a 
hard  heart;  harder  than  to  remove  a  mountain,  raise 
the  dead,  cleave  a  rock,  shake  the  whole  earth.  It  is  a 
great  miracle  to  convert  a  wicked  man,  greater  than  rend- 
ing of  rocks.  Moses'  rod  struck  a  rock  thrice,  and  did  it. 
Slinisters  have  struck  men's  rocky  hearts  three  hundred 
times,  and  cannot.  The  graves  sooner  open  than  the  se- 
pulchres of  sin  and  darkness  ;  tlie  vast  tarth  sooner  quakes 
than  men's  hearts  at  God's  judgments. 

4.  In  respect  of  the  Women  that  stood  by,  that  their  faith 
might  be  confirmed.  For  seeing  him  on  the  cross  at  their 
mercy,  whose  bowels  never  knew  the  softness  of  such  a  na- 
ture, exposed  to  all  the  t}Tanny  of  their  hands  and  tongues  ; 
hands  that,  like  cruel  chirurgeon's,  searched  everj-  part  of  his 
blessed  body  ;  tongues  that  ran  nimbly  through  all  the  pas- 
sages of  obloquy,  till  they  had  overtaken  reproach  itself, 
and  cast  it  on  him.  His  body  at  the  full  will  of  the  tor- 
mentors, and  his  soul  not  without  intolerable  terrors ;  as 
they  might  judge  by  the  strange  speech  that  came  fi-om 
him  :  "  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?" 
Doth  man  triumph  over  him,  and  doth  God  forsake  him  ? 
This  might  breed  in  their  hearts  a  suspicion,  either  that  he 
was  a  deceiver,  or  else  utterly  cut  off.  To  stifle  this  doubt 
in  the  very  birth,  he  shakes  the  earth,  and  rends  the  rocks ; 


THE  POWER  OF  CHKIST  EVEN  PYING.  129 

that  as  they  knew  liim  dying  liominem  vman  (a  man  truly), 
so  they  might  perceive  him  doing  these  miracles  not  hoininem 
vierum  (a  man  merely),  but  the  ever-living  God.  These 
wonders  blow  the  spark  of  their  faith,  almost  dying  ivith 
Christ ;  and  root  in  their  hearts  a  deep  and  infallible  per- 
suasion of  their  Saviour.  Something  there  is  to  keep  the 
faith  of  the  elect  from  quenching,  though  Satan  rain  on  it 
showers  of  discomforts.  Though  no  object  greets  the  eye 
of  flesh  but  discouragement,  yet  there  is  a  secret  spirit 
within  that  will  never  suffer  the  faith  to  fail. 

5.  In  regard  of  the  Disciples;  to  shame  and  convince 
them  for  leaving  him.  Christ  had  said  before,  Si  hi 
tacerejit,  loqverentur  lapides.  "  If  these  (speaking  of  his 
disciples)  should  hold  their  peace,  the  stones  would  imme- 
diately cry  out,"  Luke  xix.  40.  Lo,  this  saying  is  here 
come  to  pass ;  the  disciples  hold  their  peace,  the  stones 
speak  ;  they  forsake  Christ,  the  rocks  proclaim  him.  Such 
a  shame  is  it  for  apostles  and  ministers  of  Christ  to  hold 
their  peace,  that  if  they  be  silent,  the  very  stones  shall 
preach  against  them.  The  walls,  windows,  pavements  of 
churches  shall  cry  out  against  such  pastors  that  undertake 
the  office  of  a  shepherd,  and  feed  Christ  his  flock  with  no- 
thing but  air.  And  even  you  that  come  to  hear,  if  no  re- 
morse can  be  put  into  your  hearts  at  the  relation  of  our 
Saviour's  death  ;  if  you  have  no  feeling  of  his  sorrows,  no 
apprehension  of  these  mysteries,  no  repentance  of  your  sins, 
no  emendation  of  your  lives,  know  that  the  very  seats  whereon 
you  sit,  the  walls  of  your  temples,  the  very  stones  you  tread 
on,  shall  bear  witness  against  you. 

Now  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  at  his  death  brake  the  rocks, 
by  the  virtue  of  his  death  break  our  rocky  hearts,  that  be- 
ing molUfied  in  this  life,  they  may  be  glorified  in  the  life  to 
come !  Grant  this,  O  Father,  for  thy  mercies'  sake :  O 
Christ,  for  thy  merit's  sake  ;  O  holy  Spirit,  for  thy  name's 
sake;  to  whom  three  persons  one  only  wise  and  eternal 
God,  be  glory  and  praise  for  ever!  Amen. 


THE  FOOL  AND  HIS  SPORT. 


**  leoU  Butka  •  mock  at  aln."— Aw,  lir.  t. 


THE  FOOL  AND  HIS  SPORT. 


Fools  make  a  mock  at  sin."— Prov.  xlv.  o. 


The  Proverbs  of  Solomon  are  so  many  select  aphorisms, 
or  divinely  moral  says,  without  any  mutual  dependence  one 
upon  another  ;  therefore  to  study  a  coherence,  were  to  force 
a  marriage  between  unwilling  parties.  The  words  read 
spend  themselves  on  a  description  of  two  things  :  the  fool 
and  his  sport.  The  fool  is  the  wicked  man  ;  his  sport,  pas- 
time, or  babble,  is  sin.  Mocking  is  the  medium  or  connec- 
tion that  brings  together  the  fool  and  sin  ;  thus  he  makes  him- 
self merry ;  they  meet  in  mocking.  "  The  fool  makes  a 
mock  at  sin." 

Fools. — The  fool  is  the  wicked ;  an  ignorant  heart  is 
always  a  sinful  heart ;  and  a  man  without  knowledge  is  a 
man  mthout  grace.  So  Thamar  to  Amnon,  under  his  ra- 
vishing hands  :  "  Do  not  this  folly  ;  if  thou  doest  it,  tliou 
shalt  bo  as  one  of  the  fools  in  Israel,"  2  Sam.  xiii.  12,  13. 
Ignorance  cannot  exciisart  a  tnlo,  wlful  not  a  tanto.  "Christ 
shall  come  in  flaming  fire,  rendering  vengeance  to  them  that 
know  not  God,"  2  Thess.  i.  8.  The  state  of  these  fools 
is  fearful.  Like  hooded  hawks,  they  are  easily  carried  by 
the  infernal  falconer  to  hell.  Their  lights  are  out,  how  shall 
their  house  escape  robbing?    "  These  fools  have  a  know- 


134 


THE  FOOL  AND  HIS  SPORT. 


ledge,  but  It  is  to  do  evil,"  Jer.  iv.  22.  They  have  also  a 
knowledge  of  good,  but  not  sckntiam  approbationis,  they 
know,  but  the}'  refuse  it,  so  God  justl)'  quits  them ;  for 
though  he  know  them  ad  scientiam,  he  will  not  know  them 
ad  approbationem ;  but  gives  them  a  discedite  nescio  vos ; 
"  I  know  you  not ;  depart  from  me  ye  workers  of  iniquity," 
Matth.  vii.  27. 

A  man  may  be  a  fool  two  ways :  by  knowing  too 

1.  By  knowing  too  little;  when  he  knoweth  not  those 
things  whereof  he  cannot  be  ignorant  and  do  well. 
"  I  determined  not  to  know  any  thing  among  you,  save 
Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified,"  1  Cor.  ii.  2.  But  every 
man  saith  he  knows  Christ.  If  men  knew  Christ's  love  in 
dying  for  them,  they  would  love  him  above  all  things  ; 
how  do  they  know  him  that  love  their  money  above  him  ? 
Nemo  ver'e  novit  Christum,  qui  non  vere  amat  Christum.  No 
man  knows  Christ  truly  that  loves  him  not  sincerely.  If 
men  knew  Christ  that  he  should  be  judge  of  quick  and 
dead,  durst  they  live  so  lewdly?  Non  novit  Christum,  qui 
non  odit  peccatum,  he  never  knew  Christ  that  doth  not  hate 
iniquity.  Some  attribute  too  much  to  themselves,  as  if  they 
would  have  a  share  with  Christ  in  their  own  salvation. 
Nesciunt  et  Christum  et  seipsos;  they  are  ignorant  of  both 
Christ  and  themselves.  Others  lay  too  much  on  Christ — all 
the  burden  of  their  sins,  which  they  can  with  all  possible 
voracity  swallow  down,  and  with  blasphemy  vomit  up  again 
upon  him.  But  they  know  not  Christ  who  thus  seek  to 
divide  aquam  a  sanguine,  his  atoning  blood  from  his  cleans- 
ing water ;  and  they  shall  fail  of  justification  in  heaven 
that  refuse  sanctification  'upon  earth. 

2.  By  knowing  too  much;  when  a  man  presmnes  to  know 
more  than  he  ought,  his  knowledge  is  apt  to  be  pursie  and 
gross,  and  must  be  kept  low.  "  Mind  not  high  things," 
saith  the  Apostle,  Rom.  xii.  16.  Festus  slandered  Paul, 
that  "  much  learning  had  made  him  mad,"  Acts  xxvi.  27. 


(Little, 
(Much. 


i 


TIIK  FOOL  AND  HIS  SPORT. 


135 


Indeed  it  might  have  done,  if  Paul  had  been  as  proud  of  his 
learning  as  Fcstus  was  of  his  honour.  This  is  the  "  know- 
ledge that  puffeth  up,"  1  Cor.  viii.  1.  It  troubles  the  brain, 
like  undigested  meat  in  the  stomach,  or  like  the  scum  that 
secths  into  the  broth.  To  avoid  this  folly,  Paul  forbids  us 
to  "  be  -wise  in  our  own  conceits"  (Rom.  xii.  16)  ;  whereof 
I  find  two  readings,  "  be  not  wise  in  yourselves,"  and  "  be 
not  wise  to  yourselves." 

Not  in  yourselves — conjure  not  your  wit  into  the  circle 
of  your  own  secret  profit.  We  account  the  simple  fools; 
God  accounts  the  crafty  fools.  He  that  thinks  himself  wise, 
is  a  fool  ipso  facto  (in  very  deed).  It  was  a  modest  speech 
that  fell  from  the  philosopher,  Si  qnando  fatuo  delectari  vo- 
lo,  none.1t  mild  longe  qucerendus ;  me  video  (Sen.  Ep.  13)  :  (If 
I  desire  to  hold  converse  with  a  fool,  I  need  not  go  far  to 
find  one  out,  fori  find  one  in  myself)  Therefore  Christ  pro- 
nounced his  woes  to  the  Pharisees,  his  doctrines  to  the 
people.  The  first  entry  to  wisdom  is  scire  quod  nescias, 
to  know  thy  ignorance.  Sobriety  is  the  measure  for  know- 
ledge, as  the  Gomer  was  for  manna.  Curiosity  is  the 
rennet  that  turns  our  milk  into  curds. 

Not  to  yourselves ;  "Let  thy  fountain  be  dispersed  abroad  " 
(Prov.  V.  16),  saith  the  wisest  king.  Communicate  thy  know- 
ledge, Matth.  V.  15.  Christians  must  be  like  lights,  that 
waste  themselves  for  the  good  of  those  in  God's  house. 
Scire  tuum  nihil  est,  nisi  te  scire  hoc  sciat  alter:  (thy  knowledge 
avails  little,  unless  others  know  what  thou  hast  learned.) 
He  that  will  be  wise  only  to  himself,  takes  the  ready  way  to 
turn  fool.  Non  licet  habere  privatam,  ne  privemur  ea ;  the 
closer  we  keep  our  knowledge,  the  likelier  we  are  to  lose  it. 
Standing  water  soon  puddles  ;  the  gifts  of  the  mind,  if  they 
be  not  employed,  will  be  impaired.  Every  wicked  man  is 
a  fool  by  comparing  their  properties. 

1.  It  is  a  fool's  property, /((i!(ra  non  prospicere,  to  have 
no  foresight  of  future  things  ;  so  he  may  have  from  hand  to 
mouth,  he  sings  care  away.  So  the  grasshopper  sings  in 
harvest  when  the  ant  labours,  and  begs  at  Christmas  when 
the  ant  sings.    The  wicked  takes  as  little  care  what  shall 


136 


THE  FOOL  AND  HIS  SPORT. 


become  of  his  soul,  as  the  natural  fool  what  shall  become 
of  his  body.  Modo  potiar,  saith  the  epicure  ;  let  me  have 
pleasure  now  :  "  It  is  better  to  be  a  living  dog  than  a  dead 
lion,"  Eccles.  ix.  4.  They  do  not  in  fair  weather  repair 
their  house  against  storms,  nor  in  time  of  peace  provide 
spiritual  armour  against  the  day  of  war.  They  watch  not ; 
therefore  "  the  day  of  the  Lord  shall  come  upon  them  as  a 
thief  in  the  night,"  and  spoil  them  of  all  their  pleasures. 
The  main  business  of  their  soul  is  not  thought  of ;  nor  dream 
they  of  an  a  idite,  till  they  be  called  by  death  away  to  their 
reckoning. 

2.  It  is  a  fool's  property  to  affect  things  hurtful  to  him- 
self. Ludit  cum  spinis;  he  loves  to  be  plajing  with  thorns. 
Neither  yet  quod  iiocuit,  docuit,  hath  that  which  hurt  him 
tauglit  him  caution,  but  he  more  desperately  desires  his  own 
mischief  The  wicked  do  strongly  appropriate  to  them- 
selves this  quality  :  Cum  illLs  luduiit,  quce  illos  Icedunt.  They 
hover  to  dally  with  their  own  vexation ;  who  else  would  dote 
on  the  world,  and  hover  lilce  wasps  about  the  gally-pot, 
till,  for  one  lick  of  honey,  they  be  drowned  in  it '?  WhaX 
is  your  ambition,  O  ye  world  affecters,  saith  Augustine,  but 
to  be  affected  of  the  world  ?  What  do  you  seek,  but  per 
midta  pericula  pervenire  ad  pltira  ?  per  plurima  ad  pessima  ? 
but  through  many  dangers  to  find  more,  through  most 
to  find  the  worst  of  all?  Like  that  doting  Venetian,  for 
one  kiss  of  that  painted  harlot,  to  live  her  perpetual  slave. 
The  world  was  therefore  called  the  fool's  paradise  ;  there  he 
thinks  to  find  heaven,  and  there  he  sells  it  to  the  devU. 
Noxia  qncBrunt  improhi;  "  they  haste  as  a  bird  to  the  snare," 
Prov.  vii.  2.3.  The  devil  doth  but  hold  vanity  as  a  sharp 
weapon  against  them,  and  they  run  full  breast  upon  it; 
they  need  no  enemies ;  let  them  alone,  and  they  will  kill 
themselves.  So  the  en\'ious  pines  away  his  own  maTOW  ; 
the  adulterer  poisons  his  own  blood  ;  the  prodigal  lavisheth 
his  own  estate  ;  the  drunkard  drowns  liis  own  \\t&\  spirits. 
Wicked  men  make  war  upon  themselves  with  the  engines 
of  death. 

3.  It  is  a  fool's  property  to  prefer  trifles  and  toys  before 


THE  FOOL  AND  HIS  Sl'Oi:T. 


137 


matters  of  worth  and  weight.  Tlie  fool  will  not  give  liis 
babble  for  the  king's  exchequer.  The  wicked  prefer  bodies 
of  dust  and  ashes  to  their  souls  of  eternal  substance  ;  this 
sin-corrupted  and  time-spent  world,  to  the  perfect  and  per- 
manent joys  of  heaven  ;  short  pleasures  to  everlasting  happi- 
ness; a  puff  of  fame  before  a  solid  weight  of  glory.  What 
folly  can  be  more  pitiable  than  to  forsake  corn  for  acorns  ; 
a  state  of  immortality  for  an  apple,  as  Adam  did  ;  a  birth- 
right, with  all  the  privileges,  for  a  mess  of  pottage,  belly- 
cheer,  as  Esau  did  ;  a  kingdom  on  earth,  j  ea,  in  heaven  too, 
for  asses,  as  Saul  did  ;  all  portion  in  Christ,  for  bacon,  as 
the  Gergesites  did  ;  a  royalty  in  heaven  for  a  poor  farm  on 
earth,  as  the  bidden  guest  did  ?  Matth.  xxii.  This  is  the 
worldling's  folly.  T7Wa,  bovcs,  uxor,  iVc  :  (The  world,  cares, 
and  the  flesh,  closed  the  gates  against  those  invited  in  the 
parable,  Matth.  xxii.  1-G). 

Mitiidus,  cttra,  caro  ccelum  ckmscre  vocatis:  To  esteem  grace 
and  glory  Jess  than  farms,  oxen,  wives  ;  manna  than  onions  ; 
mercy  than  vanity ;  God  than  idols ;  they  maybe  fitly  paralleled 
with  the  prodigal  (Luke  xv.).  He  forsook,  1.  His  father's 
house  for  a  strange  country  ;  these  the  church,  God's  house, 
for  the  world  ;  a  place  wherein  they  should  be  strangers,  and 
wherein  I  am  sure  they  shall  not  be  long  dwellers.  2.  His 
father's  inheritance  for  a  bag  of  money  ;  so  these  will  not 
taiTy  for  their  heritage  in  heaven,  but  take  the  bags  which 
Mammon  thrusts  into  their  hands  on  the  present.  Who 
but  a  fool  will  refuse  the  assured  reversion  of  some  great 
lordship,  though  expectant  on  the  expiration  of  three  lives, 
for  a  ready  sum  of  money,  not  enough  to  buy  the  least  stick 
on  the  ground  ?  This  is  the  worldling's  folly,  rather  to  take 
a  piece  of  shp-coin  in  hand  than  to  trust  God  for  the  in- 
valuable mass  of  glory.  3.  He  forsakes  his  loving  fi-iends 
for  harlots,  creatures  of  spoil  and  rapine  ;  so  these  the  com- 
pany of  saints  for  the  sons  of  Belial ;  those  that  sing  praises 
for  those  that  roar  blasphemies.  4.  Lastly,  The  bread  in 
his  father's  house  lor  husks  of  beans  ;  so  these  leave  Christ 
the  true  bread  of  life  for  the  draff  which  the  s-\vine  of  this 
world  puddle  in.    Here  is  their  folly,  to  fasten  on  transient 


138 


THE  FOOL  AND  HIS  SPOKT. 


delights,  and  to  neglect  the  "  pleasures  at  the  right  hand 
of  God  for  evennore,"  Psal.  xvi.  11. 

4.  It  is  a  fool's  property  to  run  on  his  course  with  pre- 
cipitation; yet  can  he  not  outrun  the  wicked,  whose  "  driving 
is  like  Jehu's,  the  son  of  Nlmshi :  "  he  driveth  as  if  he  were 
mad"  (2  Kings  ix.  20)  ;  as  if  he  had  received  that  commis- 
sion, "  Salute  no  man  by  the  way."  "  The  wise  man  seeth 
the  plague,  and  hidcth  himself,  but  the  fool  runneth  on,  and 
is  punished,"  Prov.  xxvii.  12.  He  goes,  he  runs,  he  flies ; 
as  if  God  that  rides  upon  the  wings  of  the  -wind  should  not 
overtake  him.  He  may  pass  apace,  for  he  is  benefited 
by  the  way,  which  is  smooth  without  rubs,  and  down 
hill,  for  hell  is  at  the  bottom.  Haste  might  be  good,  if 
the  way  were  good,  and  good  speed  added  to  it;  but 
this  is  cursus  celerrimus  prater  viam:  (the  shortest  way  out 
of  the  way).  He  needs  not  run  fast ;  for  nunquam  serb  ad 
id  verdtur,  a  quo  riunquam  receditur;  the  fool  may  come 
soon  enough  to  that  place  from  whence  he  must  never  re- 
turn. Thus  you  see  the  respondency  of  the  spiritual  to 
the  natural  fool  in  their  qualities.  Truly  the  wicked  man 
is  a  fool ;  so  Solomon  expounds  the  one  by  the  other  (Eccles. 
vii.  17),  "  Be  not  overmuch -wicked,  neither  be  thou  foohsh ; 
why  shouldest  thou  die  before  thy  time  ?" 

Fools. — Observe,  this  is  plurally  and  indefinitely  spoken. 
Tlie  number  is  not  small.  Stultorum  plena  sutit  omnia :  (the 
world  is  full  of  fools).  Christ's  flock  is  little,  but  Satan's 
kingdom  is  of  large  bounds.  Plurima  pessima ;  vile  things 
are  ever  most  plentiful.  Wisdom  flies  like  the  rail,  alone  ; 
but  fools,  like  partridges,  by  whole  covies.  There  is  but 
one  truth,  but  innumerable  errors,  which  should  teach 
us — 

1.  Not  to  follow  a  multitude  in  evil.  In  civil  actions  it 
is  good  to  do  as  the  most ;  in  religious,  to  do  as  the  best. 
It  shall  be  but  poor  comfort  in  hell,  Socios  habiiLise  doioris : 
(where  thou  will  have  companions  only  in  thy  grief).  Thou 
pleadest  to  the  Judge,  I  have  done  as  others ;  the  Judge  an- 
swers, and  thou  shalt  speed  as  others. 

2.  To  bless  God  that  we  are  none  of  the  many;  as  much 


•niE  FOOI,  AKU  HIS  SPOltT. 


139 


for  our  grace,  whereby  we  difTer  from  the  fools  of  the  world  ; 
as  for  our  reason,  whereby  we  differ  fi-om  the  fools  of  na- 
ture. 

Now  as  these  fools  are  many,  so  of  many  kinds.  There 
is  the  sad  fool  and  the  glad  fool,  the  haughty  fool  and  the 
naughty  fool. 

1 .  The  sad  or  melancholy  fool  is  the  envious,  that  re- 
pines at  his  brother's  good.  An  enemy  to  all  God's  favours, 
if  they  fall  besides  himself.  A  man  of  the  worst  diet ;  for 
he  consumes  himself,  and  delights  in  pining,  in  repining, 
lie  is  ready  to  quarrel  with  God  because  his  neighbour's 
flock  escape  the  rot.  He  cannot  endure  to  be  happy  if 
with  company.  Therefore  envy  is  called  by  Prosper  De  bono 
alter'ms  tahescevtis  animi  crwialtis  (Lib.  iii.  de  Virtut.  et  Vi- 
tiis),  the  vexation  of  a  languishing  mind  arising  fi-om  an- 
other's welfare.  Tantos  invidus  liahet  jiistcc  pcence  tortores, 
(/'lantos  invidiosus  liahuit  laiidatores:.  So  many  as  the  en\'ied 
hath  praisers  hath  the  envious  tormentors. 

2.  The  glad  fool,  I  might  say  the  mad  fool,  is  the  disso- 
lute, who,  rather  than  he  will  want  sport,  makes  goodness 
itself  his  minstrel.  His  mirth  is  to  sully  every  virtue  with 
some  slander,  and  with  a  jest  to  laugh  it  out  of  fashion.  His 
usual  discourse  is  filled  up  with  boasting  parentheses  of  his 
old  sins  ;  and  though  he  cannot  make  himself  merry  with 
their  act,  he  will  with  their  report  ;  as  if  he  roved  at  this 
mark,  to  make  himself  worse  than  he  is.  If  repentance  do 
but  proffer  him  her  service,  he  kicks  her  out  of  doors  ;  his 
mind  is  perpetually  drunk,  and  his  body  lightly  dies,  like 
Anacreon,  with  a  grape  in  his  throat.  He  is  stung  of  that 
serpent,  whereof  he  dies  laughing. 

a.  The  haughty  fool  is  the  ambitious,  who  is  ever  climb- 
ing high  towers,  and  never  forecasteth  how  to  come  down. 
Up  he  will,  though  he  fall  do^vn  headlong.  He  is  weary  of 
peace  in  the  country,  and  therefore  comes  to  seek  trouble  at 
court,  where  he  haunts  great  men,  as  his  great  spirit  haunts 
liim.  When  he  receives  many  disappointments,  he  flatters 
himself  still  with  success.  His  own  fancy  persuades  him,  as 
men  do  fools,  to  shoot  away  another  arrow,  thereby  to  find 


1-iO  THK  I'OOL  AND  HIS  SI'OKT. 

the  first ;  so  he  loseth  both.  And  lastly,  because  his  pride 
will  admit  of  no  other  punisher,  he  becomes  his  own  tor- 
ment ;  and  having  at  first  lost  his  honesty,  he  will  now  also 
lose  his  wits  ;  so  truly  becomes  a  fool. 

4.  The  naughty  fool  is  the  covetous.  This  is  the  folly 
that  Solomon  saw  under  the  sun.  You  heard  before  of  a 
men-y  fool,  but  the  very  fool  of  all  is  the  avaricious  ;  for  he 
will  lose  his  friends,  starve  his  body,  damn  his  soul,  and  have 
no  pleasure  for  it.  So  saith  the  prophet,  "  He  shall  leave 
his  riches  in  the  midst  of  his  days,  and  at  his  end  shall  be  a 
fool,"  Jer.  xvii.  11.  He  wastes  himself  to  keep  his  goods  from 
waste  ;  he  eats  the  worst  meat,  and  keeps  his  stomach  ever 
chiding.  He  longs,  like  a  fool,  for  every  thing  he  sees  ;  and  at 
last  m&y  habere  quod  voluit,  nonqmdvult:  have  whathe  desired, 
never  what  he  desires.  lie  fears  not  the  day  of  judgment, 
except  for  preventing  the  date  of  some  great  obligation. 
You  would  think  it  very  pretty  treason  to  call  a  rich  man  fool ; 
but  he  doeth  so  that  dares  justify  it.  "  Thou  fool,  tliis 
night  shall  they  fetch  away  thy  soul  from  thee ;  then  whose 
shall  those  things  be,  which  thou  hast  provided?"  Luke 
xii.  20. 

We  have  anatomized  the  fool ;  let  us  behold  his  sport. 
He  maketli  a  mock  at  sin. 

The  Fathers  call  tliis  Itifiimim  gradnm,  and  Limen  inferni; 
the  lowest  degree  of  sin,  and  the  verv-  threshold  of  hell.  It 
is  Sedes  pestiletiticE,  the  scorners  chair,  Psal.  i.  I,  wherein 
the  ungodly  sits,  blasjiheming  God  and  all  goodness.  Nemo 
Jit  repente  pessitmis.  Xo  man  becomes  worst  at  first.  This 
is  no  sudden  evil.  Men  are  bom  sinful,  they  make  them- 
selves profane.  Through  many  degrees  the)'  climb  to  that 
height  of  impiety.  This  is  an  extreme  progress,  and  almost 
the  journey's  end  of  wickedness.  Improbo  latari  affectu  : 
(to  rejoice  in  evil).  Thus  Abner  calls  fighting  a  sport. 
"  Let  the  young  men  arise  and  play  before  us,"  2  Sam.  ii. 
14.  "  They  glory  in  their  shame,"  saith  the  apostle  (Phil, 
iii.  19)  ;  as  if  a  condemned  malefactor  should  boast  of  his 
halter.    Fools  make  a  mock  at  sin. 

"We  shall  the  more  clearly  see,  and  more  strongly  detest 


THE  FOOL  AMD  lUS  SPORT. 


141 


this  senseless  iniquity,  if  we  consider  the  object  of  the  fool's 
sport — Sin. 

1.  Sin,  which  is  so  Contrary  to  goodness  ;  and  though  to 
man's  corrupt  nature  pleasing,  jet  even  abhon-ed  of  those 
s])arks  and  cinders,  which  the  rust  of  sin  hath  not  quite  eaten 
out  of  our  nature  as  the  creation  left  it.  The  lewdest  man, 
that  loves  wickedness  as  heartily  as  the  devil  loves  him,  yet 
liath  some  objurgations  of  his  own  heart  ;  and  because  he 
will  not  condemn  his  sin,  his  heart  shall  condemn  him.  The 
most  reprobate  wretch  doth  commit  some  contraconscient 
iniquities,  and  hath  the  contradiction  of  his  own  soul  by  the 
I'emanents  of  reason  left  in  it.  If  a  lewd  man  had  the  choice 
to  be  one  of  those  two  emperors,  Nero  or  Constantine,  who 
would  not  rather  be  a  Constantine  than  a  Nero  ?  The  most 
violent  oppressor  that  is  cruel  to  others,  yet  had  rather  that 
others  should  be  Idnd  to  him  than  cruel.  The  bloodiest 
murderer  desires  that  others  should  use  him  gently,  rather 
than  strike,  kill,  or  butcher  him.  Nature  itself  prefers  light 
to  darkness  ;  and  the  mouth  of  a  sorceress  is  driven  to  con- 
fess. Video  melio7-a,  proboque :  (I  perceive  and  approve  what 
is  good,  though  I  pursue  what  is  evil).  The  most  rigid 
usurer,  if  he  should  come  before  a  severe  judge,  would  be 
glad  of  mercy,  though  himself  will  shew  none  to  his  poor 
bondmen. 

It  is  then,  Jirst,  a  contra-natural  thing  to  make  a  mock 
at  sin. 

2.  Sin,  which  sensibly  brings  on  present  judgments. 
"  Thou  art  made  whole  ;  sin  no  more,  lest  a  worse  thing 
come  unto  thee,"  John  v.  14.  Sin  procured  the  former, 
and  that  was  grievous,  thirty-eight  j  ears  bed-rid.  Sin  is 
able  to  draw  on  a  greater  punishment;  "  Lest  a  worse  thing 
come  unto  thee."  If  I  should  turn  this  holy  book  fi-om  one 
end  to  the  other,  if  I  should  search  all  fathers,  j  ea,  all 
witers,  whether  divine  or  human,  I  should  evince  this  con- 
clusion, that  sin  draws  on  judgment.  Pedisscquus  sceleris 
supplicium :  (Punishment  follows  close  upon  the  heels  of 
guilt).  If  there  be  no  fear  of  impiety,  there  is  no  hojie  of 
impunity.     Our  INIachiavelian  politicians  have  a  position 


142  THE  FOOL  AND  HIS  SPORT. 

that  Summa  scehra  incipiuntur  cum  periculo,  peragunlur  cum 
prcemio  :  the  greatest  wickedness  is  begun  with  danger,  gone 
through  with  reward.  Let  the  philosopher  stop  theur 
mouths:  Sceliis  aliqiiis  iutum,  nemo  securum  tiUit;  some 
guihy  men  have  been  safe,  none  ever  secure. 

This  every  eye  must  see.  Let  adultery  plead  that  nature 
is  the  encourager  and  director  of  it,  and  that  she  is  unjust 
to  give  him  an  affection,  and  to  bar  him  the  action ;  yet  we 
see  it  plagued.  To  teach  us  that  the  sin  is  of  a  greater  la- 
titude than  some  imagine  it,  unclean,  loathsome,  perjured. 
Broad  impudence,  contemplative  baudery.,  an  eye  full  of  un- 
cleanness,  are  things  but  jested  at.  The  committers  at  last 
find  them  no  jest  when  God  pours  vengeance  on  the  body, 
and  wrath  on  the  naked  conscience. 

Let  drunkenness  stagger  in  the  robes  of  good-fellowship, 
and  shroud  itself  under  the  wings  of  merriment ;  yet  we  see 
it  have  the  punishment,  even  in  this  life.  It  corrupts  the 
blood,  drowns  the  spirits,  beggars  the  purse,  and  enricheth 
the  carcase  with  surfeits — a  present  judgment  waits  upon  it. 
He  that  is  a  thief  to  others,  is  at  last  a  thief  also  to  himself, 
and  steals  away  his  own  life.  God  doth  not  ever  forbear 
sin  to  the  last  day,  nor  shall  the  bloody  ruffian  still  escape. 
Psalm  Iv.  23  ;  but  Ids  own  blood  shall  answer  some  in 
present,  and  his  soul  the  rest  eternally.  Let  the  popish 
colleges  pretend  a  warrant  from  the  Pope  to  betray  and 
murder  princes,  and  build  his  damnation  on  their  iniquitous 
grounds,  which  have  Par  urn  rationis,  vtinus  honeslatis,  reli- 
gionis  nihil:  little  reason,  less  honesty,  no  rehgion.  Yet 
we  see  God  reveals  their  malicious  stratagems,  and  buries 
them  in  their  own  pit.  Percy's  head  now  stands  centinel 
where  he  was  once  a  pioneer. 

If  a  whole  land  flow  with  wickedness,  it  escapes  not  a 
deluge  of  vengeance.  For  England,  have  not  her  bowels 
groaned  under  the  heavy  pestilence  ?  K  the  plague  be  so 
common  in  our  mouths.  Low  should  it  not  be  common  in 
our  streets  ?  With  that  plague  wherewith  we  Curse  others, 
the  just  God  curseth  us.  AVe  shall  find  in  that  imperuj 
stiite  of  Rome,  that  tOl  Constantine's  time  almost  ever}- 


THE  FOOL  AND  HIS  SPOUT. 


143 


emperor  died  by  treason  or  massacre  ;  after  the  receiving  of 
the  gospel,  none  except  that  revolter  Julian.  Let  not  sin 
then  be  made  a  sport  or  jest,  which  God  will  not  forbear  to 
punish  even  in  this  life. 

3.  But  if  it  bring  not  present  judgment,  it  is  the  more 
fearful.  The  less  punishment  wickedness  receives  here,  the 
more  is  behind.  God  strilces  those  here  whom  he  means 
to  spare  hereafter ;  and  corrects  that  son  whom  he  pur- 
poseth  to  save.  But  he  scarce  meddles  with  them  at  all 
whom  he  intends  to  beat  once  for  all.  The  almond  tree 
is  forborne  them  who  are  bequeathed  to  the  boiling  pot. 
There  is  no  rod  to  scourge  such  in  present ;  so  they  go  with 
whole  sides  to  hell.  The  purse  and  the  flesh  escapes  ;  but 
the  soul  pays  for  it.  This  is  misericordia  puniens,  a  griev- 
ous mercy,  when  men  are  spared  for  a  while  that  they  may 
be  spilled  for  ever.  This  made  that  good  saint  cry,  "  Lord, 
here  afflict,  cut,  bum,  torture  me  ;"  tit  in  ceternum  parcas, 
so  that  for  ever  thou  wilt  save  me  (Augustine.)  No  sor- 
row troubles  the  wicked,  no  disturbance  embitters  their  plea- 
sures ;  "  but,  remember,"  saith  Abraham,  to  the  merry  lewd 
rich  man,  "  thou  wert  delighted,  but  thou  art  tormented," 
Luke  xvi.  25.  Tarditas  suppUcii gravitate  penmtiir  ;  and  he 
will  strike  with  iron  hands  that  came  to  strike  with  leaden 
feet.  No,  their  hell-fire  shall  be  so  much  the  hotter,  as 
God  Lath  been  cool  and  tardy  in  the  execution  of  his  ven- 
geance. This  is  a  judgment  for  sin  that  comes  invisible  to 
the  world,  insensible  to  him  on  whom  it  lights.  To  be 
"  given  over  to  a  reprobate  mind,  to  a  hard  and  impeni- 
tent heart,"  Kom.  i.  28;  ii.  6.  If  any  thing  be  vengeance, 
this  is  it.  I  have  read  of  plagues,  famine,  death,  come 
tempered  with  love  and  mercy ;  this  never  but  in  anger. 
Many  taken  with  this  spiritual  lethargy,  sing  in  taverns  that 
should  howl  with  di-agons,  and  sleep  out  Sabbaths  and  ser- 
mons whose  awaked  souls  would  rend  their  hearts  with 
anguish.    Fools,  then,  only  make  a  mock  at  sin. 

4.  Sin  that  shall  at  last  be  laid  heavy  on  the  conscience  ; 
the  lighter  the  burden  was  at  first,  it  shall  be  at  last  the 
more  ponderous.    The  wicked  conscience  may  for  a  while 


144 


THE  FOOL  AND  HIS  SPORT. 


lie  asleep ;  but,  TranquilUtas  ista  tempestas  est ;  this  calm  is 
the  greatest  stonn  (Jeroni.)  The  mortallcst  enemies  are  not 
evermore  in  pitched  fields,  one  against  the  other.  The  guilty 
may  have  a  seeming  truce  ;  true  peace  they  cannot  have.  A 
man's  debt  is  not  paid  by  slumberuig ;  even  while  thou 
sleepest,  thy  arrears  run  on.  If  thy  conscience  be  quiet 
■without  good  cause,  remember  that  cedat  injiisttssima  pax  jus- 
tissimo  hello ;  a  just  war  is  better  than  unjust  peace.  The 
conscience  is  like  a  fire  under  a  pile  of  green  wood,  long  ere 
it  burn  ;  but  once  kindled,  it  flames  beyond  quenching.  It 
is  not  pacifiable  while  sin  is  within  to  vex  it.  The  hand  will 
not  cease  throbbing  so  long  as  the  thorn  is  within  the  flesh. 
In  vain  he  striveth  to  feast  away  cares,  sleep  out  thoughts, 
drink  down  sorrows,  that  hath  his  tormentor  within  him. 
When  one  violently  offers  to  stop  a  source  of  blood  at  the 
nostril,  it  finds  a  way  doira  the  throat,  not  without  hazard 
of  suffocation.  The  stricken  deer  runs  into  the  thicket, 
and  there  breaks  off'  the  arrow  ;  but  the  head  sticks  still 
within  him,  and  rankles  to  death.  Flitting  and  shifting 
ground  gives  way  to  furtlicr  anguish.  The  unappeased 
conscience  mil  not  leave  him  till  it  hath  shewed  him  hell ; 
nor  then  neither.  Let,  then,  this  fool  know  that  his  now 
seared  conscience  shall  be  quickened  ;  his  death-bed  shall 
smart  for  this.  And  his  amazed  heart  shall  rue  his  old 
wilful  adjournings  of  repentance.  How  many  have  there 
raved  on  the  thought  of  their  old  sins,  which  in  the  days  of 
their  hot  lust  they  would  not  think  sins.  Let  not  then  the 
fool  make  a  mock  at  sin. 

5.  Sin,  which  hath  another  direful  effect  of  greater  lati- 
tude, and  comprehensive  of  all  the  rest.  Divinam  incitat 
iram.  It  provokes  God  to  anger.  "  The  wrath  of  a  king 
is  as  messengers  of  death."  "What  is  the  wrath  of  the  King  of 
kings  ?  "  For  our  God  is  a  consuming  fire,"  Heb.  xii.  29.  If 
the  fire  of  his  anger  be  once  throughly  incensed,  all  the  rivers 
in  the  south  are  not  able  to  quench  it.  "WTiat  pillar  of  the 
earth,  or  foundation  of  heaven,  can  stand  when  he  will  shake 
them  ?  He  that  in  his  wrath  can  open  the  jaws  of  earth 
to  swallow  thee,  sluice  out  floods  from  the  sea  to  dro^Ti  thee, 


THE  FOOL  AKD  HIS  SPORT. 


145 


rain  down  fire  from  heaven  to  consume  thee.  Sodom,  the 
old  world,  Korah,  drank  of  these  wrathful  vials.  Or  to  go 
no  further,  he  can  set  at  ire  the  elements  within  thee,  by 
whose  peace  thy  spirits  are  held  together ;  drown  thee  with 
a  dropsy  bred  in  thine  own  flesh ;  burn  thee  with  a  pesti- 
lence begotten  in  thine  own  blood;  or  bury  thee  in  the 
earthly  grave  of  thine  own  melancholy.  Oh,  it  is  a  fearful 
thing  "  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God."  It  is 
then  wretchedly  done,  thou  fool,  to  jest  at  sin  that  angers 
God,  who  is  able  to  anger  all  the  veins  of  thy  heart  for  it. 

6.  Sin,  which  was  punished  even  in  heaven.  Angeli  de- 
triidunlur  propter  peccatum.  "  God  spared  not  the  angels 
that  sinned,  but  cast  them  down  to  hell,"  2  Pet.  ii.  4.  It 
could  bring  down  angels  from  heaven  to  hell ;  how  much 
more  men  from  earth  to  hell!  If  it  could  corrupt  such 
glorious  natures,  what  power  hath  it  against  dust  and  ashes? 
Art  thou  better  or  dearer  than  the  angels  were  ?  Dost  thou 
flowt  at  that  which  condemned  them  ?  Go  thy  ways,  make 
thyself  merry  with  thy  sms ;  mock  at  that  which  threw  down 
angels.  Unless  God  give  thee  repentance^  and  another 
mind,  thou  shalt  speed  as  the  lost  angels  did.  For  God 
may  as  easily  cast  thee  from  the  earth  as  he  did  them  from 
heaven. 

7.  Sin,  which  God  so  loathed,  that  he  could  not  save  his 
own  elect  because  of  it,  but  by  killing  his  own  Son.  It  is 
such  a  disease  that  nothing  but  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God 
could  cure  it.  He  cured  us  by  taking  the  receipts  himself 
which  we  should  have  taken.  He  is  first  cast  mto  a  sweat — 
such  a  sweat  as  never  man  but  he  felt,  when  the  bubbles 
were  drops  of  blood.  Would  not  sweating  serve  ?  He  comes 
to  incision,  they  pierce  his  hands,  his  feet,  his  side,  and  set 
life  itself  abroach.  He  must  take  a  potion,  too,  as  bitter  as 
their  malice  could  make  it,  compounded  of  vinegar  and  gall. 
And,  lastly,  he  must  take  a  stranger  and  stronger  medicine 
than  all  the  rest — he  must  die  for  our  sins.  Behold  his 
harmless  hands,  pierced  for  the  sins  our  harmful  hands  had 
committed  !  His  undefiled  feet,  that  never  stood  in  the 
ways  of  evil,  nailed  for  the  errors  of  our  paths  1  He  is  spitted 

K 


146  THE  FOOL  AND  HIS  SPOKT. 

on,  to  purge  away  our  uncleanness  ;  clad  in  scornful  robes, 
to  cover  our  nakedness ;  whipped,  that  we  might  escape 
everlasting  scourges.  He  would  thirst,  that  our  souls  might 
be  satisfied  ;  the  Eternal  would  die,  that  we  might  not  die 
eternally.  He  is  content  to  bear  all  his  Father's  wrath,  that 
no  piece  of  that  burden  might  be  imposed  upon  us  ;  and 
seems  as  forsaken  a  whUe,  that  we  by  him  might  be  received 
for  ever.  Behold  his  side  become  bloody,  his  heart  drj-, 
liis  face  pale,  his  arms  stiff,  after  that  the  stream  of  blood 
had  ran  down  to  his  wounded  feet.  O  think  if  ever  man 
felt  son-ow  like  him  ;  or  if  he  felt  any  sorrow  but  for  sin. 

Now,  is  that  sin  to  be  laughed  at  that  cost  so  much  tor- 
ment ?  Did  the  pressure  of  it  lie  so  heavy  on  the  Son  of 
God,  and  doth  a  son  of  man  make  Ught  of  it  ?  Did  it 
wring  from  him  sweat,  and  blood,  and  tears,  and  uncon- 
ceivable groans  of  an  afflicted  spirit,  and  dost  thou,  O  fool, 
jest  at  it?  Alas,  that  which  put  our  infinite  Redeemer, 
God  and  man,  so  hard  to  it,  must  needs  swallow  up  and 
confound  thee,  poor  sinful  wretch !  It  pressed  him  so  far, 
that  he  cried  out  to  the  amazement  of  earth  and  heaven, 
"  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  Shall 
he  cry  for  them,  and  shall  we  laugh  at  them?  Thou 
mockest  at  thy  oppressions,  oaths,  sacrileges,  lusts,  frauds ; 
for  these  he  groaned.  Thou  scomest  his  gospel  preached; 
he  wept  for  thy  scorn.  Thou  knowest  not,  O  fool,  the 
price  of  a  sin  :  thou  must  do,  if  thy  Saviour  did  not  for  thee. 
K  he  suffered  not  this  for  thee,  thou  must  suffer  it  for  thy- 
self. Passio  aterna  erit  in  te,  si  passio  Aeterni  non  erat  pro 
te.  An  eternal  passion  shall  be  upon  thee,  if  the  Eternal's 
passion  were  not  for  thee.  Look  on  thy  Saviour,  and  make 
not  a  mock  at  sin. 

8.  Lastly,  Sin  shall  be  punished  with  death,  Rom.  vi.  26. 
You  know  what  death  is  the  wages  of  it ;  not  only  the  first, 
but  the  second  death.  Rev.  xx.  6.  Inexpressible  are  those 
torments ;  when  a  reprobate  would  give  all  the  pleasures 
that  ever  he  enjoyed  for  one  drop  of  water  to  cool  his  tongue. 
Where  there  shall  be  unquenchable  fire  to  burn,  not  to  give 
light,  save  a  glimmering.    Ad  aggravatiouem,  ut  videant 


THE  FOOL  AND  HIS  SPOKT. 


147 


unde  doleant :  non  ad  consulationem,  ne  videant  unde  gaude- 
ant  (Isid.  lib.  i.  de  Sum.  Bon.)  ;  to  shew  them  the  torments 
of  others,  and  others  the  torments  of  themselves. 

But  I  cease  urging  this  terror,  and  had  rather  win  you 
by  the  love  of  God  than  by  his  wrath  and  justice.  Neither 
need  I  a  stronger  argument  to  dissuade  you  from  sin,  than 
by  hb  passion  that  died  for  us  being  enemies.  For  if  the 
agony,  anguish,  and  heart-blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  shed  for  our 
sins,  will  not  move  us  to  repentance,  we  are  in  a  desperate 
case.  Now,  therefore,  I  fitly  leave  Paul's  adjuration,  so 
sweetly  tempered,  in  your  bosoms,  commending  that  to  your 
consciences,  and  your  consciences  to  God.  "  I  beseech  you 
brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  that  ye  present  your 
bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy  and  acceptable  unto  God," 
Bom.  xiL  1. 


THE  CHRISTIAN'S  WALK; 


THE   KING'S   HIGHWAY   OF   C  H  A  H  I  T  T. 


1 


THE  CHRISTIAN'S  WALK; 


THE  KING'S  HIGHWAY   OF  CHARITY. 


"  Walk  in  love,  as  Christ  also  hath  lovod  lis,  and  hath  given  himself  for  us,  an 
offisrlnir  and  a  sacrifice  to  God  for  a  sweet  smelling  saTour."— £i)*e«.  v.  2. 


Our  blessed  Saviour  is  set  forth  in  the  gospel,  not  only  a 
sacrifice  for  sin,  but  also  a  direction  to  virtue.  He  calleth 
himself  the  Truth  and  the  Way  ;  the  truth,  in  regard  of  his 
good  learning  ;  the  way,  in  respect  of  his  good  life.  His  ac- 
tions are  our  instructions,  so  well  as  his  passion  our  salva- 
tion. He  taught  us  both  faciendo  and  patiendo,  both  in 
doing  and  in  d}-ing. 

Both  sweetly  propounded  and  compounded  in  this  verse. 
Actively,  he  loved  us  ;  passively,  he  gave  himself  for  us  ; 
and  so  is  both  an  example  for  virtue,  and  an  offering  for 
sin.  He  gave  himself,  that  his  passion  might  save  us  ;  he 
loved  us,  that  his  actions  might  direct  us.  "  Walk  in  love, 
as  Christ  also  hath  loved  us,  and  bath  given  himself  for  us, 
an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God  for  a  sweet  smelling  sa- 
vour." 

We  may  distinguish  the  whole  (Canon, 
verse  into  a  sacred  (^Crucifix. 
The  canon  teacheth  us,  What ;  the  crucifix.  How. 
In  the  canon,  we  shall  find, 

(Precept.    )  j  .        ,  (Exhortatory. 
^   jPrecedent.  I      "  P'^'^"^  |Exemplary. 
Tlic  precept,  "  Walk  in  love    the  precedent  or  pattern,  "as 


loi  THE  CHRISTIAU'S  WALK  ;  OR 

Christ  loved  us."  Tlie  precept  holy,  the  pattern  heavenly. 
(Jlirist  bids  us  do  nothing  but  what  himself  hath  done  before ; 
we  cannot  find  fault  with  our  example. 

The  crucifix  hath  one  main  stock — "  He  gave  himself  for 
us."  And  two  branches  not  unlike  that  cross-piece  where- 
unlo  his  two  hands  were  nailed.  1.  An  offering  or  sacri- 
fice.   2.  Of  a  sweet  smelling  savour  to  God. 

To  begin  with  the  canon,  the  method  leads  us  first  to  the 
precept ;  which  shall  take  up  my  discourse  for  this  time. 
"  Walk  in  love."    Here  b 

1.  The  Way  prescribed. 

2.  Our  Course  incited. 

The  way  is  love,  our  course,  walking. 

Love  is  the  Way. 

And  that  an  excellent  way  to  heaven.  Our  apostle  ends  his 
12th  chapter  of  the  1st  Corinthians  in  the  description  of  many 
spiritual  gifts.  "  Apostleship,  prophes}ing,  teaching,  work- 
ing of  miracles,  healing,  speaking  with  tongues."  All  ex- 
cellent gifts  ;  and  yet  concludes,  verse  31,  "But  covet  ear- 
nestly the  best  gifts  ;  and  )  et  shew  I  unto  you  a  more  ex- 
cellent way,"  1  Cor.  chap.  xiii.  Now  that  excellent,  more 
excellent  way,  was  charity  ;  and  he  takes  a  whole  succeed- 
ing chapter  to  demonstrate  it,  which  he  spends  wholly  in 
the  praise  and  prelation  of  love. 

I  hope  no  man,  when  I  call  love  a  way  to  God,  will  un- 
derstand it  for  a  justifying  way.  Faith  alone  leaning  on 
the  merits  of  Christ,  doth  bring  us  into  that  high  chamber 
of  presence.  Love  is  not  a  cause  to  justify,  but  a  way  for 
the  justified.  There  is  difference  betwixt  a  cause  and  a 
way.  Faith  is  causa  justijicando :  (the  cause  of  justification). 
Love  is  via  jiistificati :  (the  way  of  the  justified).  They  that 
.are  justified  by  faith,  must  walk  in  charity ;  for  "  faith 
worketh  and  walketh  by  love,"  Gal.  v.  6.  Faith  and  love 
are  the  brain  and  the  heart  of  the  soul,  so  knit  together  in 
a  mutual  harmony  and  correspondence,  that  without  their 
perfect  union  the  whole  Christian  man  cannot  move  with 


TUE  king's  highway  OF  CHARITY.  153 

power,  nor  feel  with  tendemess,  nor  breathe  with  true  life. 
Love,  then,  is  a  path  for  holy  feet  to  walk  in.    It  is 

fClear  | 
A  -^Near      V  Way. 
(Sociable  ) 

Clear. — There  be  no  rubs  in  Love.  Nec  relia  tendit, 
nec  Icedere  intendit.  It  neither  docs  nor  desires  another's 
harm  ;  it  commits  no  evil,  nay,  "  it  thinks  no  evil,"  saith 
our  apostle,  1  Cor.  xiii.  5.  For  passive  rubs,  "  it  passeth 
over  an  offence,"  Prov.  xix.  11.  It  may  be  moved  with 
violence,  cannot  be  removed  from  patience.  "  Charity 
covers  a  multitude  of  sins,"  saith  Peter,  1  Pet.  iv.  8.  All 
sins,  saith  Solomon  (Prov.  x.  12),  covers  them  partly  from 
the  eyes  of  God,  in  praying  for  the  offenders  ;  partly  from 
the  eyes  of  the  world,  in  throwing  a  cloak  over  our  brother's 
nakedness  ;  especially  from  its  own  eyes,  by  winking  at  many 
wrongs  offered  it.  "  Charity  suffereth  long,"  1  Cor.  xiii.  4. 
The  back  of  love  will  bear  a  load  of  injuries. 

Tliere  be  two  graces  in  a  Christian  that  have  a  different 
property.  The  one  is  most  stout  and  stern  ;  the  other 
most  mild  and  tender.  Love  is  soft  and  gentle  ;  and,  there- 
fore, compared  to  the  "  bowels,"  i.  e.  of  mercy.  Col.  iii.  12. 
Viscera  miscericordice.  Faith  is  austere  and  courageous, 
carrj-ing  Luther's  motto  on  the  shield,  Cedo  ladli,  I  peld  to 
no  enemy  of  my  faith.  So  said  our  precious  Jewel ;  I  deny 
my  hving,  I  deny  my  estimation,  I  deny  my  name,  I  deny 
myself ;  but  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  the  truth  of  God,  I 
cannot  deny.  But  love  is  mild,  long-suffering,  merciful, 
compassionate,  and  so  hath  a  clear  way  to  peace. 

Near. — Love  is  also  a  very  near  way  to  blessedness, 
and,  as  I  may  say,  a  short  cut  to  heaven.  All  God's  law 
was  at  first  reduced  to  ten  precepts.  The  kws  of  nations, 
though  they  make  up  large  volumes,  yet  are  still  imperfect ; 
some  statutes  are  added  as  necessary,  others  repealed  as 
hurtful.    But  the  law  of  God,  though  contained  in  a  few 


154 


lines,  yet  contains  all  perfection  of  duty  to  God  and  man. 
There  is  no  good  thing  that  is  not  here  commanded,  no  evil 
thing  that  is  not  here  forbidden.  And  all  this  is  in  so  short 
bounds  that  those  ten  precepts  are  called  but  ten  words.  Yet 
when  Christ  came,  he  abridged  this  law  shorter,  and  re- 
duced the  ten  into  two.  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  thy  neighbour  as  thyself."  St 
Paul  yet  comes  after,  and  rounds  up  all  into  one.  God  re- 
duceth  all  into  ten  ;  Christ  those  ten  into  two  ;  Paul  those 
two  into  one.  "  Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law,"  Eom. 
xiii.  10.  AVhich  is  compendium,  non  dispendium  legis, 
(saith  TertuUian,  Contr.  Marcion.  lib.  5)  ;  an  abridging,  not 
enervating  of  the  law  of  God.  So  Augustine,  God  in  all 
his  law,  nihil  prmcipit  nisi  Charitatem,  nihil  culpat  nisi  cu- 
jndilatem  (De  Doctrin.  Christ,  lib.  3,  cap.  10)  commands 
nothing  but  love,  condemns  nothmg  but  lust.  Yea,  it  is 
not  only  the  complement  of  the  law,  but  also  the  supplement 
of  the  gospel.  Novum  mandatum  ;  "  A  new  commandment 
I  give  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  another,"  John  xiii.  34. 
All  which  makes  it  manifest  that  love  is  a  near  way  to 
heaven. 

Sociable  it  is  also ;  for  it  is  never  out  of  company,  never 
out  of  the  best  company.  The  delight  thereof  is  "  with  the 
saints  that  are  on  earth,  and  with  the  excellent,"  Psal.  xvi. 
3.  The  two  main  objects  of  envy  are  highness  and  nigh- 
ness  ;  the  envious  man  cannot  endure  another  above  him, 
another  near  him ;  the  envious  man  loves  no  neighbour. 
But  contrarily,  love  doth  the  more  heartily  honour  those 
that  are  higher,  and  embrace  those  that  are  nigher,  and 
cannot  want  society,  so  long  as  there  is  a  communion  of 
saints.    Love  is  the  way,  you  hear  ;  our 

Course  is  Walking. 
As  clear,  near,  and  sociable  a  way  as  love  is,  yet  few  can 
hit  it ;  for  of  all  ways  you  shall  find  this  least  travelled.  The 
way  of  charity,  as  once  did  the  wa3-s  of  Sion,  mourns  for 
want  of  passengers.    This  path  is  so  uncouth  and  unbeaten, 


THE  king's  HIGinVAY  OF  CnAHITY.  155 

that  many  cannot  tell  whether  there  be  such  a  way  or  not. 
It  is,  in  their  opinion,  but  via  serpentis,  the  way  of  a  serpent 
on  the  earth,  or  of  a  bird  in  the  air,  which  cutteth  the  air 
with  her  wings,  and  leaves  no  print  or  track  behind  her  ;  or 
some  chimera  or  mathematical  imaginary  point ;  an  ens  ra- 
tionale (a  rational  entity),  -without  true  being.  Viam  dilec- 
iionis  ignorant  (the  way  of  love  they  know  not)  ;  as  the  apos- 
tle salth,  Viam  pacis^  "  The  way  of  peace  they  have  not 
kno^vn,"  Rom.  iii.  17. 

Others  know  there  is  such  a  way,  but  they  will  not  set 
their  foot  into  it.  Their  old  way  of  malice  and  covetous- 
ncss  is  delightful;  but  this  is  ardua  et  prcenipta  via,  a  hard 
and  a  harsh  way.  Indeed,  Artis  tristi^sima  janua  nostra,  the 
entrance  to  this  way  is  somewhat  sharp  and  unpleasant  to 
flesh  ;  for  it  begins  at  repentance  for  former  uncharitable- 
ness.  But  once  entered  into  this  king's  highway,  it  is  full 
of  all  content  and  blessedness  ;  Ad  Icetos  ducens  per  gramina 
Jluctus. 

Walk  in  Love. 

He  doth  not  say,  talk  of  it,  but  walk  in  it.  Tliis  precept 
is  for  course,  not  discourse.  Love  sits  at  the  door  of  many 
men's  lips,  but  hath  no  dwelling  in  the  heart.  We  may 
say  truly  of  that  charity,  it  is  not  at  home.  A  great  man 
had  curiously  engraven  at  the  gate  of  his  palace  the  image 
of  bounty  or  hospitality ;  the  needy  travellers  with  joy  spy- 
ing it,  approach  thither  in  hopeful  expectation  of  succour ; 
but  still  silence,  or  an  empty  echo,  answers  all  their  cries 
and  knocks  ;  for  hospitality  may  stand  at  the  gate,  but  there 
is  none  in  the  house.  One  among  the  rest  (his  hungry 
trust  thus  often  abused)  resolves  to  pluck  down  the  image, 
with  these  words,  if  there  be  neither  meat  nor  di-ink  in  the 
house,  what  needs  there  a  sign  ?  Great  portals  in  the 
country,  and  coloiired  posts  in  the  city,  promise  the  poor 
beggar  liberal  relief,  but  they  arc  often  but  images  ;  Muta 
et  VMtila  signa,  dumb  and  lame  signs  ;  for  charity  is  not  at 
liome,  only  the  shadow  without  ;  "pe  illcctat  inani,  gives  fair 
and  fruitless  hopes. 


156  THE  christian's  WALK ;  OB, 

We  are  too  much  wearied  with  these  shadows  of  charity. 
Ambrose  makes  two  parts  of  liberality  ;  benevolence  and 
beneficence  (Offic.  lib.  i.  cap.  30).  Many  will  share  the 
former,  but  spare  the  latter ;  they  will  wish  some  thing,  but 
do  nothing  ;  they  have  open  mouths,  but  shut  hearts  ;  soft 
words,  but  hard  bowels.  To  these  St  John  gives  advice, 
"  Let  us  not  love  in  word  nor  in  tongue,  but  in  deed  and 
in  ti-uth,"  1  John  iii.  18.  Opposing  works  to  words,  verity 
to  vanity.  Verbal  complements  are  not  real  implements  ; 
and  with  a  little  inversion  of  the  philosopher's  sense,  the 
belly  hath  no  ears.  The  starved  soul  delights  not  to  hear 
charity,  but  to  feel  it.  Oculatce  mihi  sunt  manus,  the  poor's 
hands  have  eyes  ;  what  they  receive  they  believe.  The 
gouty  usurer  hath  a  nimble  tongue,  and  though  he  will  not 
walk  in  love,  he  can  talk  of  love  ;  for,  of  all  members, 
the  tongue,  poslrema  scjiescit,  waxeth  old  last.  Let  a  dis- 
tressed passenger  come  to  some  of  their  gates,  and  he  shall 
have  divinity  enough,  but  no  humanity  ;  wholesome  counsel, 
but  no  wholesome  food.  They  can  afford  them  exhorta- 
tion, but  not  compassion  ;  charging  their  ears,  but  in  no  wise 
overcharging  their  bellies  ;  they  have  Scripture  against  beg- 
ging, but  no  bread  against  famishing.  The  bread  of  the 
sanctuary  is  common  with  them,  not  the  bread  of  the 
buttery.  If  the  poor  can  be  nourished  with  the  philoso- 
phical supper  of  good  moral  sentences,  they  shall  be  prodi- 
giously feasted  ;  but  if  the  bread  of  hfe  will  not  content 
them,  they  may  be  packing.  But,  saith  St  James,  "  If  you 
say  to  the  poor,  depart  in  peace,  be  warmed,  be  filled  ;  yet 
give  them  nothing  needful  to  the  body"  (James  ii.  16),  your 
devotion  profits  not,  neither  them  nor  y  ourselves.  There 
is  difference  betwixt  breath  and  bread,  between  wording 
and  working,  between  mere  language  and  very  sustenance. 

The  apostle  chargeth  us  to  walk,  not  to  talk  of  love ; 
one  step  of  our  feet  is  worth  ten  words  of  our  tongues.  The 
actions  of  pity  do  gracefully  become  the  profession  of  piety. 
It  is  wittily  observed,  that  the  over-precise  are  so  thwart- 
ingly  cross  to  the  superstitious  in  all  things,  that  they  will 
scarce  do  a  good  work,  because  an  heretic  doth  it.  That 


THF,  king's  nrcnwAY  of  chabity. 


157 


whereas  a  Papist  -will  rather  lose  a  penny  than  a  pater 
noster,  these  will  rather  give  a  pater  noster  than  a  penny. 
They  are  devout  and  free  in  anything  that  toiicheth  not 
their  purses.  Thus,  with  a  shew  of  spiritual  counsel,  they 
neglect  coi-poral  comfox-t  ;  and  overthrow  that  by  their  cold 
deeds  which  they  would  seem  to  build  up  by  their  hot 
words.  That  the  poor  might  well  reply.  More  of  your  cost, 
and  less  of  your  counsel,  would  do  far  better. 


Do  not  step  over  it,  nor  cross  it,  nor  walk  beside  it,  nor 
near  it,  but  walk  in  it.  Tlie  doctrine  in  full  strength  di- 
rects us  to  a  constant  embracing  of  charity.  The  whole 
course  of  our  living  must  be  loving  ;  our  beginning,  conti- 
nuance, end,  must  be  in  charity.  Two  sorts  of  men  are 
here  specially  reprovable.  Some 


Some  have  had  apparent  beginnings  of  love,  whose  con- 
clusion hath  halted  off  into  worldliness  ;  whilst  they  had 
Uttle,  they  communicated  some  of  that  little  ;  but  the  mul- 
tiplying their  riches  hath  been  the  abatement  of  their  mer- 
cies. Too  many  have  verified  this  incongruence  and  prepos- 
terous observation,  that  the  filling  their  purses  with  money 
hath  proved  the  emptying  their  hearts  of  charity.  As  one 
observes  of  Rome,  that  the  decUnation  of  piety  came  at 
one  instant  with  the  multiplication  of  metals.  Even  that 
clergy,  that  being  poor,  cured  only  to  feed  the  flock  ;  once 
grown  rich,  studied  only  to  fill  the  pail.  Anmiianus  Mar- 
cellinus  saith  of  them  that,  matronarum  ohlationibus  ditahan- 
tur,  they  were  enriched  by  ladies'  gifts.  And  hereupon, 
together  with  that  unlucky  separation  of  the  Greek  head 
from  the  Latin  body,  the  empire  began  to  dwindle,  the 
Popedom  to  flourish.  Now  plenty  is  the  daughter  of  pros- 
perity, ambition  of  plent}-,  corruption  of  ambition.  So 
divitice  veniunt,  relkjioqni  fiiijit,  religion  brings  in  wealth, 
wealth  thrusts  out  religion. 


Walk  in  Lore. 


That  seem  to 


(Begin  in  CJiarity,  but  end  not  so. 
(End  in  Charity.,  that  never  walked  so. 


158  THE  CIIUISTIA^■'s  WALK ;  on, 

To  this  purpose,  and  to  prevent  this  ready  e>il,  was  God's 
charge  by  the  pen  of  David.  "  If  riches  increase,  set  not 
your  heart  upon  them,"  Psahn  Ixii.  10.  For  till  they  in- 
crease, there  is  less  danger.  But,  saith  one,  Socictas  qum- 
dani  est,  etiam  omuis,  vitiis  et  dimtm.  Wealth  and  mcked- 
ness  are  near  of  kin.  Nimia  honorum  copiu,  ingem  mahrvm 
occasin.  Plenty  of  goods  lightly  occasions  plenty  of  evils. 
Goodness  commonly  lasts  till  goods  come  ;  but  condition  of 
state  alters  condition  of  persons.  How  many  had  been 
good,  had  they  not  been  great !  And  as  it  was  said  of  Ti- 
berius, he  would  have  made  a  good  subject,  but  was  a  very 
ill  king  ;  so  many  have  died  good  servants  that  would  have 
lived  bad  masters.  God  that  can  best  fit  a  man's  estate 
here,  that  it  may  further  his  salvation  hereafter,  knows  that 
many  a  man  is  gone  poor  up  to  heaven,  who  rich  would 
have  tumbled  down  to  hell.  AVe  may  observe  this  in  Peter, 
who  being  gotten  into  the  high  priest's  hall,  sits  him  down 
by  the  warm  fire,  and  forgets  his  master,  Mark  xiv.  54. 
Before  Peter  followed  Christ  at  the  hard  heels,  through 
cold  and  heat,  hunger  and  thirst,  trouble  and  weariness, 
and  promiseth  an  infallible  adherence ;  but  now  he  sits 
beaking  himself  by  a  warm  fire,  his  poor  Master  is  forgotten. 
Thus  his  body  grows  warm ;  his  zeal,  his  soul,  cold.  When 
he  was  abroad  in  the  cold,  he  was  the  hotter  Christian ; 
now  he  is  by  the  fire-side,  he  grows  the  colder.  Oh  the 
warmth  of  this  world,  how  it  makes  a  man  forget  Christ ! 
lie  that  wants  bread,  pities  them  that  be  hungrj- ;  and 
they  that  want  fire  have  compassion  of  the  poor,  cold,  and 
naked  ;  but  the  warmth  and  plenty  of  the  world  starves 
those  thoughts.  When  the  princes  are  at  ease  in  Sion, 
they  never  "  grieve  for  the  aflliction  of  Joseph,"  Amos 
vi.  6. 

Wliilst  usury  can  sit  in  furs, -ambition  look  down  from  his 
lofty  turrets :  lust  imagine  heaven  in  her  soft  embracings ; 
epicureans  study  dishes  and  eat  them  ;  pride  study  fashions 
and  wear  them ;  the  down-trodden  poor,  exposed  to  the 
bleak  air,  afflicted,  famished,  are  not  thought  on.  So  easiU' 
are  many  that  begun  in  love,  put  by  riches  out  of  the  way ; 


THE  king's  highway  OF  CnAFITT.  159 

and  made  to  forbear  walking  in  cliarity,  even  by  that  which 
should  enable  their  steps.  Thus  avarice  breeds  with  wealth, 
as  they  speak  of  toads  that  have  been  found  in  the  midst  of 
gi-eat  stones.  Though  the  man  of  mean  estate,  whose  own 
want  instructs  his  heart  to  commiserate  others,  says  thus 
with  himself:  If  I  had  more  goods,  I  would  do  more  good  ; 
yet  experience  justifies  this  point,  that  many  have  changed 
their  minds  with  their  means,  and  the  state  of  their  purse 
hath  forespoken  the  state  of  their  conscience.  So  they  have 
begun  in  the  charity  of  the  spirit,  and  ended  in  the  cares  of 
the  tlesh.  Gal.  iii.  3. 

Every  man  hath  a  better  opinion  of  himself  than  to  think 
thus.  As  Hazael  answered  Elisha,  when  the  good  prophet 
told  him  with  tears  that  he  should  burn  the  cities  of  Israel 
with  fire,  slay  the  inhabitants,  rip  up  the  women  with  child, 
and  dash  the  infants  against  the  stones.  "  Am  I  a  dog, 
that  I  should  do  this  homd  thing?"  2  Ivings  viii.  13.  So 
you  will  not  think,  that  being  now  mean,  you  relieve  the 
distressed  ;  if  you  were  rich,  that  you  would  rob,  spoil,  de- 
fi-aftd,  oppress,  impoverish  them.  O  you  know  not  the 
incantations  of  the  world.  It  is  a  pipe  that  (beyond  the 
siren's  singing)  makes  many  sober  men  run  mad  upon  it. 
I  have  read  of  an  exquisite  musician,  of  whom  it  was  re- 
ported that  he  could  put  men  into  strange  fits  and  passions, 
which  he  would  as  soon  alter  again  with  varj  ing  his  notes — 
inclining  and  compelling  the  disposition  of  the  hearer  to  his 
strains.  There  was  one  that  would  make  trial  how  he  could 
aflect  him,  daring  his  best  skill  to  work  upon  his  boasted 
composedness  and  resolution.  The  musician  begins  to  play, 
and  gave  such  a  lacrymcc,  so  sad  and  deep  a  lesson,  that  the 
man  fell  into  a  dumpish  melancholy,  standing  as  one  for- 
lorn, with  his  arms  wreathed,  his  hat  pulled  over  his  eyes, 
venting  many  mournful  sighs.  Presently  the  musician 
changeth  his  stroke  into  mirthful  and  lusty  tunes,  and  so 
by  degrees  into  jigs,  crotchets,  and  wanton  airs  ;  then  the 
man  also  changeth  his  melancholy  into  spritely  humours, 
leaping  and  dancing  as  if  he  had  been  transformed  into 
air.    This  passion  lasting  but  with  the  note  that  moved  it : 


160 


the  musician  riseth  into  wild  rajjtures,  masks,  and  antiques ; 
whereupon  he  also  riseth  to  shouting,  hallooing,  and  such 
frantic  passages,  that  he  grew  at  last  stark -mad.  Such  a, 
charming  power,,  said  a  worthy  divine,  hath  the  music  of 
money  and  wealth,  and  such  fits  it  works  in  a  man's  heart. 
First  it  takes  him  from  peaceful  settledness,  and  from  great 
conicnt  in  his  little,  and  puts  him  into  dumps  ;  a  miserable 
carking  thoughtfulness  how  to  scrape  together  much  dirt. 
Next  when  he  hath  it,  and  begins  with  delight  to  suck  on 
the  dugges  of  the  world,  his  purse,  his  bams,  and  all  his, 
but  his  heai-t,  full,  he  falls  to  dancing  and  singing  requiems: 
"  Soul,  take  thine  ease,  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry,"  Luke 
xii.  20.  Then  shall  his  table  stand  full  of  the  best  dishes, 
his  cup  of  the  purest  wine,  his  back  with  the  richest  robes  ; 
and  he  conceits  a  kind  of  immortality  in  his  coffers ;  he  de- 
nies himself  no  satiety,  no  surquedry.  But  at  last  the 
world's  bedlam  music  puts  him  into  frenzy — he  grows  ram- 
pant. Runs  into  oppressions,  extortions,  depopulations, 
rapes,  whoredoms,  murders,  massacres  ;  spares  not  blood  or 
fiiendship,  authority  nor  vassalage,  widow,  orphan,  prince, 
nor  subject ;  Nec  harce,  nec  Arcs ;  neither  poor  man's  cot- 
tage nor  church's  altar ;  yea,  if  the  commonwealth  had 
but  one  throat,  as  Xero  wished  of  Rome,  he  would  cut  it. 
Oh  the  unpacifiable  madness  that  this  world's  music  puts 
those  into  who  will  dance  after  its  pipe.  For  this  cause, 
saith  our  apostle,  continue  in  the  charity  thou  hast  begun  ; 
"  Walk  in  love." — "  Ye  did  run  well,  who  did  hinder  you?" 
Gal.  V.  7.  Doth  wealth  keep  you  from  charity?  "  This 
persuasion  cometh  not  of  him  that  calleth  you,"  verse  8. 
God  never  meant  when  he  gave  you  riches  that  you  should 
then  begin  to  be  covetous.  He  did  not  for  this  purpose 
shew  new  mercy  to  you  that  you  should  take  away  your 
old  mercies  from  his. 

There  are  others  that  seem  to  end  in  love,  who  never  all 
their  days  walked  in  this  heavenly  path.  They  have  a 
will  l)ing  by  them,  wherein  they  have  bequeathed  a  certain 
legacy  to  the  poor — something  to  such  a  church,  or  such  an 
hospital.    But  this  will  is  not  of  force  till  the  testator  be 


THE  king's  highway  OF  CUARITV.  161 

dead,  so  that  a  man  may  say,  though  the  will  be  ready,  yet 
to  will  is  not  ready  with  them  ;  'for  God  shall  not  have  it 
so  long  as  they  can  keep  it.  These  can  wish  with  Balaam  to 
die  Christians,  but  they  must  live  pagans.  Having  raised 
thousands  out  of  their  sacrilegious  and  inhospitable  impro- 
priations, they  can  bestow  the  dead  hope  of  a  little  mite 
on  the  church.  In  memorial  whereof  the  heir  must  procure 
an  annual  recitation,  besides  the  monumental  sculpture  on 
the  tomb.  Be  his  life  never  so  black,  and  more  tenebrous 
than  the  vaults  of  lust,  yet,  said  a  reverend  divine,  he  shall 
find  a  black  prophet  for  a  black  cloak,  that  with  a  black 
mouth  shall  commend  him  for  whiter  than  snow  and  lilies. 
Though  his  unrepented  oppressions,  unrestored  extortions, 
and  blood-drawing  usuries,  have  sent  his  soul  to  the  infernal 
dungeon  of  Satan,  whose  parishioner  he  was  all  his  life  ;  yet 
nionc}-  may  get  him  canonized  a  saint  at  Rome,  and  robe 
him  with  spotless  integrity  and  innocence.  So  divers 
among  them  that  lived  more  latronum  (after  the  manner  of 
felons),  yet  in  death  affected  cultum  martyrum  (the  charac- 
ter of  mart}Ts).  Hence  epitaphs  and  funeral  orations  shall 
commend  a  man's  charity,  who  never  all  his  days  walked 
two  steps  in  love. 

But  it  is  in  vain  to  write  a  man's  charity  in  a  repaired 
window,  when  his  tyrannous  life  is  witten  in  the  bloody  and 
indelible  characters  of  many  poor  men's  ruin  and  overthrow. 
Nor  can  the  nan-ow  plaster  of  a  little  poor  benevolence 
hide  and  cover  the  multitude  of  gaping  wounds  made  by  ex- 
tortion and  unmercifulness.  No,  God  hates  the  sacrifice  of 
robbery ;  "  their  drink  offerings  of  blood  will -I  not  offer,"  said 
David  (Ps.  xvi.  4).  The  oblation  that  is  made  up  of  the 
earnings  of  the  poor  is  an  abomination,  offending  God's  eye, 
and  provoking  his  hand.  First,  restore  the  lands  and  goods 
of  others  injuriously  or  usuriously  gotten  ;  let  not  an  unjust 
penny  lie  rotting  on  thy  heap  and  heart ;  and  then  build 
hospitals,  repair  ruined  holy  places,  produce  the  fruits  of 
mercy,  walk  in  love.  Otherwise  it  is  not  smooth  marble 
and  engraven  brass,  with  a  commending  epitaph,  that  can 
any  more  preserve  the  name  firom  rotten  putrefaction  than 

L 


162  THE  christian's  walk;  on, 

the  carcase.  But  for  all  that,  the  memory  shall  stink  above 
ground,  as  the  body  doth'  under  it.  It  is  a  desperate  ha- 
zard, that  a  wicked  man  by  a  charitable  will  shall  make 
amends  for  all ;  whereas,  commonly  an  usurer's  testament 
is  but  a  testimony  of  his  lewd  life.  There  is  small  hope 
that  they  end  in  charity,  who  would  never  walk  in  love. 

There  be  others  that  cannot  walk  in  love,  through  a 
double  defect,  either  of  eyes  or  of  feet.  Some 

Have  i  ^y^s. 
\  Eyes,  but  want  Feet. 

1.  Some  have  the  feet  of  affections,  but  they  lack  eyes, 
and  so  cannot  descry  the  true  and  perfect  way  of  love.  In- 
deed, no  man  can  find  it  without  God.  "  Shew  me  thy 
ways,  O  Lord  ;  teach  me  thy  paths,"  Psal.  xxv.  4.  For  it 
is  He  that  directs  "sinners  and  wanderers  to  the  way,"  ver.  8. 
These  want  him,  that  should  "  lead  them  by  the  way  that 
they  should  go,"  Isa.  xlviii.  17.  They  think  that  by  build- 
ing up  a  ladder  of  good  works,  their  souls  shall,  on  meri- 
torious rounds,  climb  up  to  heaven.  They  cannot  dis- 
tinguish between  viam  rcrjni  (the  way  to  the  kindgom^,  and 
caiisam  regnandi  (the  cause  why  it  is  inherited.)  They  sup- 
pose if  they  relieve  seminaries,  fast  Lents,  keep  their  num- 
bered orisons,  prodigally  sacrifice  their  blood  in  treasons  for 
that  Roman  harlot,  this  is  via  dilectionis,  the  way  of  love. 
So  the  silly  servant,  bidden  to  open  the  gates,  set  his  shoul- 
ders to  them,  but  ^vith  all  his  might  could  not  stu:  them  ; 
whereas  another  comes  with  the  kej',  and  easily  unlocks 
them.  These  men,  so  confident  in  their  good  works,  do 
but  set  their  shoulders  to  heaven's  gates,  alas,  without  com- 
fort ;  for  it  is  the  key  of  faith  that  only  opens  them.  These 
have  nimble  feet,  forward  affections,  hearts  workable  to 
charity,  and  would  walk  in  love  if  they  had  eyes.  There- 
fore let  us  pray  for  them.  "  Cause  them  to  know  the  way, 
O  Lord,  wherein  they  should  walk,"  Psal.  cxhii.  8. 

2.  Others  have  e3-es,  but  they  want  feet ;  they  under- 
stand the  way  of  love,  but  they  have  no  affection  to  walk  in 


THE  king's  UIGHWAY  OF  CHARITY.  163 

it.  They  know  that  false  measures,  foresworn  valuations, 
adulterated  wares,  smooth-cheeked  circumventions,  painted 
cozenages,  malicious  repinings,  denied  succours,  are  all  against 
love.  Noscunt  et  poscunt;  they  know  them,  but  they  will 
use  them.  They  know  that  humbleness,  kindness,  meek- 
ness, patience,  remission,  compassion,  giving  and  forgiving ; 
actual  comforts,  are  the  fruits  of  love.  Norunt  et  nolimt ; 
they  know  it,  but  they  will  none  of  it.  These  know,  but 
walk  not  in  love.  It  is  fabled  that  a  great  king  gave  to 
one  of  his  subjects,  out  of  his  own  mere  favour,  a  goodly 
city,  happily  replenished  with  all  treasures  and  pleasures. 
He  does  not  only  freely  give  it,  but  directs  him  the  way, 
which  keeping,  he  should  not  miss  it.  The  rejoiced  sub- 
ject soon  enters  on  his  journey,  and  rests  not  till  he  comes 
within  the  sight  of  the  city.  Thus  near  it,  he  spies  a  great 
company  of  men  digging  in  the  gi-ound,  to  whom  approach- 
ing, he  found  them  casting  up  white  and  red  earth  in  abun- 
dance. Wherewith  his  amazed  eyes  grooving  soon  enamoured, 
he  desires  a  participation  of  their  riches.  They  refuse  to 
join  him  in  their  gains,  unless  he  will  join  himself  in  their 
pains.  Hereupon  he  falls  to  toiling,  digging,  and  delving, 
till  some  of  the  earth  falls  so  heavy  upon  him,  that  it  lames 
him,  and  he  is  able  to  go  no  further.  There  he  dies  in  the 
sight  of  that  city,  to  which  he  could  not  go  for  want  of  feet, 
and  loseth  a  certain  substantial  gift  for  an  uncertain  sha- 
dow of  vain  hope. 

You  can  easily  apply  it.  God,  of  his  gracious  favour, 
not  for  our  deserts,  gives  man,  his  creature,  a  glorious  city, 
even  that  whose  "  foundations  are  of  jasper,  sapphire,  and 
emerald,"  &c.  Rev.  xxi.  19.  He  doth  more,  directs  him 
in  the  way  to  it :  Go  on  this  way  ;  walk  in  love.  He  begins 
to  travel,  and  comes  within  the  sight  of  heaven  ;  but  by  the 
way  he  spies  worldlings  toiling  in  the  earth,  and  scraping 
together  white  and  red  clay,  silver  and  gold,  the  riches  of 
this  world.  Hereof  desirous,  he  is  not  suffered  to  partake, 
except  he  also  partake  of  their  covetousness  and  corrupt 
fashions.  Now,  Mammon  sets  him  on  work  to  dig  out  his 
oivn  damnation  [Effodiuntur  opes  irritameta  mnlorum,  Me- 


164 


tarn)  ;  where,  after  a  wliile,  tliis  gay  earth  comes  tumbling 
so  fast  upon  him,  that  his  feet  be  maimed,  his  affections  to 
heaven  lost,  and  he  dies  short  of  that  glorious  city,  which 
the  King  of  heaven  purchased  with  his  own  blood,  and  gave 
him.  Think  of  this,  ye  worldlings,  and  seeing  you  know 
what  it  is  to  be  charitable,  put  your  feet  in  this  way  ;  Walk 
in  love. 

There  be  yet  others  whose  whole  course  is  every  step  out 
of  the  way  to  God,  who  is  love  ;  and  they  must  walk  in  love 
that  come  unto  him. 

1.  There  is  a  path  of  lust ;  they  err  damnably  that  call 
this  the  way  of  love.  They  turn  a  spiritual  grace  into  a 
carnal  vice ;  and  whereas  charity  and  chastity  are  of  a  nearer 
alliance  than  sound,  these  debauched  tongues  call  unclean- 
ness  love.  Adultery  is  a  cursed  way,  though  a  much  coursed 
way ;  for  a  whore  is  the  highway  to  the  devil. 

2.  There  is  a  path  of  malice,  and  they  that  travel  in  it 
are  bound  for  the  enemy.  Their  evil  eye  is  vexed  at  God's 
goodness,  and  their  hands  of  desolation  would  undo  his 
mercies.  Other  men's  health  is  their  sickness  ;  others'  weal 
then-  woe.  The  Jesuits  and  their  bloody  proselrtes  are 
pilgrims  in  this  way.  AVe  know  by  experience  the  scope  of 
their  walks.  Theii'  muUce  was  so  strong  as  savire  in  saxa ; 
but  they  would  turn  Jerusalem  in  acervum  lapidum,  into  a 
heap  of  stones.  Yea,  such  was  their  rage,  that  nil  reliqid 
fecerunl,  ut  non  ipsis  dementis  Jieret  injuria  ;  they  spared  not 
to  let  the  elements  know  the  madness  of  their  violence. 
They  could  not  draw  fire  from  heaven  (their  betters  could 
not  do  it  in  the  days  of  Christ  on  earth)  ;  therefore  they  seek 
it,  they  dig  it  from  hell. 

Here  was  malicious  u-alking. 

3.  There  is  a  counterfeit  path ;  and  the  travellers  make  as  if 
they  walked  in  love,  but  their  love  is  dissimulation,  1  John  iii. 
18.  It  is  not  dilectio  vera,  true  love,  which  Saint  John  speaks 
of;  nor  dilectio  mera  (mere  love),  as  Luther;  not  a  plain-heart- 
ed love.  They  will  cozen  you  unseen,  and  then,  like  the  whore 
in  the  Proverbs  (x.xx.  20),  wipe  their  mouths  ;  and  it  was 
not  they.    Their  art  is,  (dios  pellerc  aut  tollere,  to  give 


THE  king's  HIGHWAY  OF  CIIAKITY.  165 

others  a  wipe  or  a  wound ;  and,  Judas-like,  they  salute 
those  with  a  kiss  against  whom  they  intend  most  treason. 

4.  There  is  a  way  directly  cross  to  love,  which  neither 
obeys  God  (for  love  keeps  the  commandments)  nor  com- 
forts man  ;  for  love  hath  compassion  on  the  distressed.  These 
have  feet  swift  enough,  but  "  swift  to  shed  blood.  Destruc- 
tion and  misery  are  in  their  ways,"  Rom.  iii.  5.  They  are  in 
Zedechiah's  case  (2  Kings  xxv.  7),  both  their  eyes  are  put 
out,  and  their  feet  lamed  with  the  captive-chains  of  Satan  ; 
so  easily  carried  down  to  his  infernal  Babylon. 

These  are  they  that  "  devour  a  man  and  his  heritage," 
Mic.  ii.  2.  Therefore  Christ  calls  their  riches,  not  raiVra, 
but  ri  itivTx,  things  within  them,  as  if  they  had  swallowed 
them  down  into  their  bowels.  The  phrase  is  used  by 
Job,  "  He  hath  swallowed  down  riches,  and  he  shall 
vomit  them  up  again  :  God  shall  cast  them  out  of  his  belly," 
Job  XX.  15.  When  this  vomit  is  given  them,  you  shall 
see  strange  stuff  come  from  them.  Here  the  raw  and  un- 
digested gobbets  of  usury ;  there  the  mangled  morsels  of 
bloody  oppressions  ;  here  five  or  six  impropriate  churches  ; 
there  thousand  acres  of  decayed  tillage ;  here  a  whole  cas- 
ket of  bribes ;  there  whole  houses  and  patrimonies  of  un- 
done orphans ;  here  an  enclosure  of  commons ;  there  a 
vastation  of  proper  and  sanctified  things.  Rip  up  their 
consciences,  and  this  is  the  stuffing  of  their  hearts. 

These  walk  cross  to  the  cross  of  Christ ;  as  Paul  saith, 
they  are  enemies,  cursed  "  walkers,"  Phil.  iii.  18.  Where- 
upon we  may  conclude  with  Bernard,  Periculosa  tempora 
jam  non  instant,  sed  extant  (De  confidorat.  Ub.  1),  the  dan- 
gerous times  are  not  coming,  but  come  upon  us.  The  cold 
frost  of  indevotion  is  so  general,  that  many  have  benumbed 
joints  ;  they  cannot  walk  in  love.  Others  so  stiff  and  obdu- 
rate, that  they  will  meet  all  that  walk  in  this  way,  and  with 
their  turbulent  malice,  strive  to  jostle  them  out  of  it.  There- 
fore David  prays,  "  Preserve  me  fi*om  the  violent  men  that 
have  purposed  to  overthrow  my  goings,"  Psal.  i^v.  4.  Let 
us  then,  upon  this  great  cause,  use  that  deprecation  in  our 
Litany,   "  From  pride,  vain-glory,  and  hypocrisy ;  from 


166  THE  christian's  WALK  ;  OB, 

envj',  hatred,  malice,  and  all  uncharitableness,  good  Lord 
deliver  us." 

I  am  loath  to  give  you  a  bitter  farewell,  or  to  conclude 
with  a  menace.  I  see  I  cannot,  by  the  time's  leave,  drink 
to  you  any  deeper  in  this  cup  of  charity.  I  -will  touch  it 
once  again,  and  let  every  present  soul  that  loves  heaven 
pledge  me  ;  Walk  in  love. 

The  way  to  life  everlasting  is  love ;  and  he  that  keeps 
the  way  is  sure  to  come  to  the  end.  "  We  know  that  we 
have  passed  from  death  to  life,  because  we  love  the  bre- 
thren," 1  John  iii.  14.  For  these  are  the  works  of  merc}-, 
charity,  piety,  and  pity,  so  much  commended  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  by  the  Fathers,  with  so  high  titles,  because  they 
are  the  appointed  way  wherein  we  must  walk,  and  whereby  we 
must  "  work  out  our  own  salvation."  Therefore,  the  apostle 
claps  in  the  neck  of  good  works  ;  "  laying  up  in  store  for 
themselves  a  good  foundation  against  the  time  to  come,  that 
they  may  lay  hold  on  eternal  life,"  1  Tim.  \i.  19.  Thereby 
we  lay  the  ground  of  salvation  in  our  consciences,  and  take 
assui-ed  hold  of  eternal  life.  He  that  goes  on  in  love  shall 
come  home  to  life. 

This  comforts  us ;  not  in  a  presumption  of  merit,  but  in 
confident  knowledge  that  this  is  the  way  to  glorj' ;  wherein, 
when  we  find  ourselves  walking,  we  are  sure  we  are  going 
to  heaven :  "  and  sing  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  Great  is 
the  glory  of  the  Lord,"  Psal.  cxxxviii.  5.  Now,  therefore, 
"  put  on  (as  the  elect  of  God,  holy  and  beloved),  bowels  of 
mercy,  kindness,  humbleness  of  mind,"  &c.  Col.  iii.  12.  As 
you  claim  any  portion  in  those  gracious  blessings,  election, 
sanctification,  and  the  love  of  God ;  as  you  would  have  the 
sweet  testimony  of  the  Spirit  that  you  are  sealed  up  to  the 
day  of  redemption,  "  put  on  mercy,  kindness,  meekness, 
long  sufiering  ; "  let  them  be  as  robes  to  cover  you  all  over  ; 
yea,  "  bowels  of  mercies  ; "  let  them  be  as  tender  and  in- 
ward to  you  as  your  most  \ital  parts.  Lay  forbearance  and 
forgiveness  as  dear  friends  in  your  bosoms.  Depart  fi:om 
iniquity ;  for  "  the  high  way  of  the  upright  is  to  depart 
from  evil;  and  he  that  keepeth  his  way,  preserveth  his  soul," 


TUE  king's  HIGHWAY  OF  CHARITY.  1C7 

Prov.  xvi.  1 7.  And,  "  above  all  these  things,  put  on  charity, 
■which  is  the  bond  of  perfectness,"  Col.  iii.  14.  Walk  in 
love.  "  And  as  many  as  vfalk  according  to  this  rule,  peace 
be  on  them,  and  mercy,  and  upon  the  Israel  of  God,"  Gal. 
vi.  16.  Amen. 


LOVE'S  COPY; 


THE  BEST  PRECEDENT  OF  CHARITY. 


■*  Am  OhrUt  loved  as."-£|>A«.  T.  *. 


1 


LOVE'S  COPY; 


THB   BEST  PRECEDENT  OP  CHAKITT. 


•*  As  Christ  loved  u9."—£pliei.  v.  2. 


We  distinguished  the  whole  verse  into  a  Canon  and  a 
Crucifix.  The  canon  consisted  of  a  precept  and  a  precedent. 
Love  is  the  subject,  and  it  is  both  commanded  and  com- 
mended. Commanded  in  the  charge,  which  you  have  heard. 
Commended  in  the  example,  which  you  shall  hear.  I  de- 
termined my  speech  with  the  precept.  Walk  in  love.  The 
precedent  or  pattern  remains  to  be  propounded  and  ex- 
pounded ;  As  ChiHst  loved  us.  Every  word  is  emphati- 
cal ;  and  there  be  four,  signif}ing  four  several -natures. 


Two  of  these  words  be  vincula  or  media,  words  that  join 
and  unite  other  things  ;  sicut  and  dilexit,  as  and  hved.  As 
directs  our  love  to  God  and  man,  by  the  exemplified  rule  of 
Christ  loving  us.  Walk  in  love  to  others,  as  Christ  loved 
us.  Loved  is  that  blessed  reconcOing  nature  whereby  God's 
good  greatness  descends  to  our  bad  baseness,  and  the  just 
gives  to  the  unjust  salvation.  For  what  other  nature  but 
mercy  could  reconcile  so  high  majesty  and  so  low  misery  1 


Here 


1.  As 

2.  Christ 

3.  Loved 

4.  Us 


1.  Quality. 

2.  Majesty. 

3.  Mercy. 

4.  Misery. 


172  love's  copy  ;  or, 

As,  according  to  Zanchius'  observation  on  this  place,  is 
a  note  of  quality,  not  equalittj ;  of  similitude,  not  of  com- 
parison. We  must  love  others  as  Christ  loved  us.  As,  for 
the  manner,  not  for  the  measure.  "  Ilis  love  was  strong  as 
death"  (Cant.  viii.  6);  for  to  the  death  he  loved  us.  It 
was  a  bright  and  clear  fire  ;  many  waters  could  not  quench 
it ;  yea,  water  and  blood  could  not  put  it  out.  "  God  so 
loved  the  world"  (John  ili.  16),  so  freely,  so  fatherly,  so 
fully,  as  no  tongue  can  tell,  no  heart  think.  "  The  love  of 
Christ  passeth  knowledge,"  Ephes.  iii.  19.  To  think  of 
equalling  this  love  would  be  an  impossible  presumption. 
Our  love  is  inconstant,  weak,  a  mingled,  and  often  a  mangled 
love,  mingled  with  self-love,  and  mangled  with  the  wound- 
ing affections  of  the  world.  Our  love  is  faint,  his  strong ; 
ours  fickle,  his  constant ;  ours  limited,  his  infinite.  Yet  we 
must  follow  him  so  fast  as  we  can,  and  so  iax  as  wc  may ; 
Walking  in  love,  as  he  loved  lis. 

His  walking  in  love  was  strange  and  admirable  ;  he  took 
large  steps  ;  from  heaven  to  earth,  and  from  earth  to  hea- 
ven. As  Bernard  on  that  speech  of  the  chiurch  concerning 
her  Beloved,  "  Behold,  he  cometh  leaping  upon  the  moun- 
tains, skipping  upon  the  hills,"  Cant.  ii.  8.  He  leaps  fi-om 
heaven  to  the  virgin's  womb,  from  the  womb  to  a  manger, 
from  the  manger  to  Egypt,  from  Eg}-pt  to  Judah,  fi-om 
thence  to  the  temple,  from  the  temple  up  to  the  cross,  from 
the  cross  down  to  the  grave,  from  the  grave  up  to  the  earth, 
and  fi-om  the  earth  up  to  the  highest  glory.  And  he  shall 
yet  have  another  leap,  from  the  right  hand  of  his  Father  to 
judge  quick  and  dead. 

These  were  great  jumps,  and  large  paces  of  love.  AATien 
he  made  but  one  stride  from  the  clouds  to  the  cradle,  and 
another  fi-om  the  cradle  to  the  cross,  and  a  third  from  the 
cross  to  the  crown.  To  come  from  the  bosom  of  his  im- 
mortal Father,  to  the  womb  of  his  mortal  mother,  was  a  great 
step.  From  the  lowest  hell,  or  depth  of  his  humiUation,  to 
the  liighest  heaven  or  top  of  his  e.x.oltation,  was  a  large  pace. 

"VVe  cannot  take  such  large  steps,  nor  make  such  strides. 
These  leaps  are  beyond  our  agility,  our  ability.  Yet  we  must 


THE  BEST  PRECEDENT  OF  CHARITY.  173 
follow  bim  in  love  ;  stepping  so  far  as  we  can,  and  walking 
so  fast  as  we  maj'.  Follow  we  carefully  and  cheerfully  ; 
though  non  passib'is  CEquis  (at  a  great  distance  behind).  The 
father,  that  takes  his  young  son  into  the  field  with  bows  and 
shafts,  and  bids  him  shoot  after  him,  doth  not  expect  that 
the  child  should  shoot  so  far  as  he,  but  so  far  as  he  can. 
Though  we  cannot  reach  Christ's  mark,  yet  "if  there  be  a 
willing  mind,  it  is  accepted  according  to  that  a  man  hath, 
not  according  to  that  he  hath  not,"  2  Cor.  xiii.  12.  Now, 
this  particle  as,  is  not  barely  similitudinary,  but  hath  a  great- 
er latitude  ;  and  serves 

r  Confine")  TMeasure^ 
To  -<  Define  >  the  <  Matter  y  of  our  Imitation. 
(Refine  )  (Manner) 

1.  This  Sicut  confines 
our  imitation,  and  limits  it  to  that  circumference,  which 
the  present  rule  or  compass  gives  it.  "We  may  not  follow 
Christ  in  all  things,  but  in  this  thing  ;  Lore,  as  he  loved  us. 
Our  imitation  hath  a  limitation,  that  it  may  not  exorbitantly 
start  out  of  the  circle.  There  are  special  works  which  God 
reserves  to  himself,  and  wherein  he  did  never  command,  or 
commend  man's  following  ;  but  rather  strikes  it  down  as  pre- 
sumption. His  jjower,  his  majesty,  his  wisdom,  his  mu-acles, 
cannot  without  a  contumacious  ambition  be  aimed  at.  When 
I^ncifcr  aspired  to  be  like  God  in  majesty,  he  was  thrown 
out  of  heaven.  When  Adam  contended  to  be  like  God  in 
knowledge,  he  was  cast  out  of  Paradise.  When  Nebuchad- 
nezzar arrogated  to  be  like  God  in  power,  he  was  expulsed 
liis  kingdom.  When  Simon  Magus  mounted  to  be  like 
God  in  working  miracles,  and  to  fly  in  the  air,  he  was 
hurled  down,  and  broke  his  neck.  God  must  not  be  imitated 
in  his  finger,  in  his  arm,  in  his  brain,  in  his  face,  but  in  his 
bowels.  Not  in  the  finger  of  his  miracles,  nor  in  the  arm 
of  his  power,  nor  in  the  brain  of  his  wisdom,  nor  in  the  face 
of  his  Majesty,  but  in  the  bowels  of  his  mercy.  "  Be  ye 
merciful,  as  your  heavenly  Father  is  merciful,"  Luke  vi.  36. 
And  saith  Paul,  "  put  on  the  bowels  of  mercy,"  Col.  iii.  13, 


174  love's  copy;  or, 

as  Christ  put  them  on  ;  forbear,  forgive,  walk  in  love,  as 
he  loved  us.  Neither  angel  nor  man  did  ever,  or  shall  ever, 
offend  in  coveting  to  be  like  God,  in  love,  grace,  mercy, 
goodness.  So  that  this  sicict  excludes  his  miracles,  and  di- 
rects us  to  his  morals.     Walk  in  love,  as,  &c. 

2.  This  Sicut  defines 
what  our  love  should  be,  as  Christ  was  to  us.  Now, 
his  love  to  us  had  an  infinite  extension,  and  is  past  the  skill 
of  men  or  angels  to  describe.  Yet  because  this  is  the  per- 
fect copy  of  our  imitation,  and  the  infallible  rule  whereby 
we  must  square  our  charity,  I  must,  according  to  my  shal- 
low power,  wade  a  little  into  this  infinite  and  boundless  sea. 
I  will  only  note  four  sweet  streams  of  life  in  his  love.  It 
r  Holy        ~|  r  Merito. 


Was  I  Hearty 


\  Kind  '  j^'^'"'  1  Despectu. 
\  Constant  J  [  Defectu. 

1.  Holy. 

The  love  of  Jesus  to  us  was  Sancta  et  sanctlficans  dilectio 
(a  sanctified  and  sanctifying  love)  ;  a  love  holy  formally  in  it- 
self; and  holy  effectively,  in  making  those  holy  on  whom  it 
was  set.  He  gave  himself  to  us,  and  for  us,  and  gave  us  a 
faith  to  receive  and  embrace  him.  Sine  quo  nec  dilecti,  nec 
diligentes  fuissemus.  Without  whom  we  neither  could  have 
received  love,  nor  returned  love.  Now  his  love  did  not  only 
extend  to  our  bodies'  health,  but  to  our  soul's  bliss.  So  he 
loved  us,  that  he  saved  us. 

Our  love  should  likewise  be  holy  and  whole,  desiring  not 
only  our  brother's  external  welfare,  but  much  more  his  in- 
ternal, his  eternal  blessedness.  He  that  pities  not  a  famished 
body,  deserves  justly  the  name  of  unmerciful  man  ;  but  he 
that  compassionates  not  an  afflicted  conscience,  hath  much 
more  a  hard  heart.  It  is  an  usual  speech  of  compassion  to 
a  distressed  man ;  alas,  poor  soul ;  but  this  same  alas,  poor 
soul,  is  for  the  most  part  mistaken.  Neither  the  pitier  nor 
the  pitied  imagmes  the  soul  pitiable.  Very  humanity  teach- 


I  Modo. 


THE  BEST  PRECEDENT  OF  CHAniTY.  175 

eth  a  man  to  behold  an  execution  of  thieves  and  traitors 
with  grief,  that  men  to  satisfy  their  malicious  or  covetous 
aflections,  should  cut  off  their  own  lives  with  so  infamous  a 
death.  But  who  commiserates  the  endangered  soul,  that 
must  then  enter  into  an  eternal  life  or  death  ? 

The  story  of  Hagar  with  her  son  Ishmael  is  set  down  by 
so  heavenly  a  pen,  that  a  man  cannot  read  it  without  tears. 
She  is  "  cast  out  of  Abraham's  house  with  her  child ;  that 
might  call  her  master  father,"  Gen.  xxi.  14.  Bread  and 
water  is  put  on  her  shoulder,  and  she  wanders  into  the 
wilderness  ;  a  poor  relief  for  so  long  a  jounicy,  to  which 
there  was  set  no  date  of  returning.  Soon  was  the  water 
spent  in  the  bottle ;  the  child  cries  for  drink  to  her  that  had 
it  not ;  and  Ufls  up  pitiful  eyes,  every  glance  whereof  was 
enough  to  wound  her  soul ;  vents  the  sighs  of  a  dry  and 
panting  heart  ;  but  there  is  no  water  to  be  had,  except  the 
tears  that  ran  down  from  a  sorrowful  mother's  eyes  could 
quench  the  thirst.  Down  she  lays  the  child  under  a  shrub, 
and  went  as  heavy  as  ever  mother  parted  from  her  only  son, 
and  sate  her  down  upon  the  earth,  as  if  she  desired  it  for 
a  present  receptacle  of  her  grief.  Of  her  self,  a  good  way  off, 
saith  the  text,  as  it  were  a  bow-shot,  that  the  shrieks,  yel- 
lings,  and  d}-ing  groans  of  the  child  might  not  reach  her 
ears  ;  crying  out,  let  me  not  see  the  death  of  the  child.  Die 
she  knew  he  must,  but  as  if  the  beholding  it  would  rend  her 
heart,  and  wound  her  soul,  she  denies  those  windows  so  sad 
a  spectacle  ;  "  let  me  not  see  the  death  of  the  child.  So  she 
lift  up  her  voice  and  wept."  Never  was  Hagar  so  pitiful  to 
her  son  Ishmael,  as  the  church  is  to  every  Christian.  If 
any  son  of  her  womb  will  wander  out  of  Abraham's  family, 
the  house  of  faith,  into  the  wilderness  of  this  world,  and  pro- 
digally part  with  his  "  own  mercy"  (John  ii.  3)  for  the  gawdy, 
transient  vanities  thereof,  she  follows,  with  entreaties  to 
him,  and  to  heaven  for  him.  If  he  will  not  return,  she  is 
loath  to  see  his  death  ;  she  turns  her  back  upon  him,  and 
weeps.  He  that  can  with  dry  eyes  and  unrelenting  heart 
behold  a  man's  soul  ready  to  perish,  hath  not  so  much  pas- 
sion and  compassion  as  that  Egyptian  bondwoman. 


176 


love's  copy  ;  ok, 


2.  Hearty. 

The  love  of  Christ  to  us  was  hearty ;  not  consisting  of 
shews  and  signs,  and  courtly  compliments,  but  of  actual, 
real,  royal  bounties.  He  did  not  dissemble  love  to  us  when 
he  died  for  us.  Exliihitio  operis,  prohatio  amorLt :  (the  ma- 
nifestation of  his  works  was  the  demonstration  of  his  love). 
He  pleaded  by  the  truest  and  most  undeniable  argument, — 
demonstration.  "  I  love  you  ;"  wherein  ?  "  I  give  my  life  for 
you."  Tot  ora,  quot  vulnera  ;  tot  verba,  quot  verbera.  So 
many  wounds,  so  many  words  to  speak  actually  his  love  ; 
every  stripe  he  bore  gave  sufEcient  testimony  of  his  affec- 
tion. His  exceeding  rich  gift  shews  his  exceeding  rich  love. 
This  heartiness  must  be  in  our  love,  both  to  our  Creator  and 
to  his  image. 

1.  To  God  ;  so  he  challengeth  thy  love  to  be  condi- 
tioned :  with  thy  heart,  with  all  thy  heart.  And  this,  saith 
Christ,  h  primum  et  maximum  mandutum:  "  the  first  and  the 
greatest  commandment,"  Matt.  xxii.  38.  Tlie  first,  Quasi  fir- 
tualiter  continens  reliqua  (Marlorat ) ;  as  mainly  comprehending 
all  the  rest.  For  he  that  loves  God  vrith  all  his  heart,  will 
neither  idolatrize  nor  blaspheme,  nor  profane  his  Sabbaths  ; 
no,  nor  wrong  his  creatures.  The  greatest,  as  requiring  the 
greatest  perfection  of  our  love  (Arctius).  This  tlien  must 
be  a  hearty  love, — not  slow,  not  idle,  but  must  shew  itself. 
Et  properando  et  operando  ;  in  ready  diligence,  in  fi-uitfiil 
and  working  obedience.  There  are  many  content  to  love 
God  a  little,  because  he  blesseth  them  much.  So  Saul  loved 
him  for  his  kingdom.  These  love  God  pro  seipsLi,  not  prcB 
seipsis:  for  themselves,  not  before  themselves.  They  will 
give  him  homage,  but  not  fealty  ;  the  calves  of  their  lips, 
but  not  the  calves  of  their  stalls.  If  they  feast  him  with 
venison,  part  of  their  imparked  riches,  which  is  dear  to 
them  ;  yet  it  shall  be  but  rascal  deer,  the  trash  of  their  sub- 
stance. They  will  not  feast  him  with  the  hart,  that  is  the 
best  deer  in  their  park. 

2.  To  man,  whom  thou  art  bound  to  love  as  thyself; 
where,  say  some,  n<  is  but  .i  I  im  not  a  tantmn:  (like  in 
mode,  not  in  r.^easun  ).     ,1.t  t!  ysflf,  not  as  miirh  as  thyself 


THE  BEST  PRECEDENT  OF  CHARITY. 


177 


As  for  the  niannei,  not  for  the  measure.  But  this  is  cer- 
tain, true  love  begins  at  home,  and  he  cannot  love  another 
.sounilly  that  primarily  loves  not  himself.  And  he  that  loves 
himself  with  a  good  heart,  ivith  the  same  heart  will  love  his 
brother.  In  quo  seipsum,  et  propter  qvod  scipsum  (Jacob, 
(le  Vorag.  in  Luc.  x.  Sorm.  2)  :  In  that  manner,  and  for 
that  cause  that  he  lores  himself.  This  then  commands  the 
same  love,  if  not  the  same  degree  of  love,  to  thy  brother, 
that  thou  bearest  to  thyself. 

This  hearty  love  is  hardly  found.  More  is  protested  now 
than  in  former  times,  but  less  done.  It  is  wittily  observed, 
that  the  old  manner  of  saluting  was  to  take  and  shake  one 
another  by  the  hand.  Now  we  lock  arms,  and  join  breasts, 
but  not  hearts.  That  old  handful  was  better  than  this  new 
armful.  Our  cringes  and  complimental  bowings  promise 
great  humility,  but  the  smothered  vermin  of  pride  lies 
within.  "We  have  low  looks  and  lofty  thoughts.  There  are 
enough  of  those  "  which  speak  peace  to  their  neighbours, 
but  mischief  is  in  their  hearts,"  Psal.  xxviii.  3  ;  whose 
smooth  habits  do  so  palliate  and  ornamentally  cover  their 
poison,  as  if  they  did  preserve  mud  in  crystal.  The  Ro- 
mans usually  painted  Friendship  with  her  hand  on  her  heart, 
as  if  she  promised  to  send  no  messenger  out  of  the  gate  of 
her  lips  but  him  that  goes  on  the  heart's  errand.  Now  we 
have  studied  both  textures  of  words,  and  pretextures  of 
manners,  to  shroud  dishonesty  ;  but  one  ounce  of  real 
charity  is  worth  a  whole  talent  of  verbal.  He  loves  us 
best  that  does  for  us  most.  Many  politicians  (and  the 
whole  world  now  runs  on  the  wheels  of  policy)  use  their 
lovers  as  ladders,  their  friends  as  scaffolds.  When  a  house 
is  to  be  erected,  they  first  set  up  scaffolds,  by  which  they 
build  it  up  ;  the  house  finished,  down  pull  they  the  scaffolds, 
and  throw  them  into  the  fire.  When  the  covetous  or  am- 
bitious man  hath  his  turn  served  by  others,  either  for 
his  advancing  or  advantaging,  for  gain  or  glory,  he  jjuts 
them  off  with  neglect  and  contempt.  The  house  is  built, 
what  care  they  for  the  scaffold  ?  The  feat  is  wrought,  let 
the  wise  and  honest  helpers  be  prisoned  or  poisoned,  sink 
M 


178  love's  COPY  ;  or, 

or  swim,  stand  or  perish.    Nay,  it  is  ■well  if  tbey  help  not 

those  down  that  helped  them  up. 


3.  Kind. 

The  apostle  makes  kindness  one  essential  part  of  our  love 
(Col.  iii.  12)  ;  derivmg  it  from  Christ's  example,  who  was 
kind  to  us,  both  in  giving  us  much  good  and  forgiving  us 
much  evil.  And  God  commendeth,  yea  commandeth,  the 
inseparable  neighbourhood  of  godliness  and  brotherly  kind- 
ness. "  Add  to  your  godliness  brotherl)-  kindness,''  2  Pet. 
i.  7.  For  there  is  no  piety  towards  God  where  there  is  no 
kindness  to  our  brother.  Now  Christ's  kindness  to  us  con- 
sisted in 


Two  excellent  effects,  i^orrigendo  (in  correctbg). 

(Pomgendo  (m  bestowing). 

1.  In  correcting  our  errors,  directing  and  amending  our 
lives.  Non  minima  pars  dikctionis  est,  reprekendere  dilec- 
tum :  it  is  no  small  part  of  kindness  to  reprove  him  thou 
lovest.  Therefore  God  saith,  "Thou  shalt  reprove  thy  brother, 
and  not  hate  him  in  thy  heart."  A  loving  man  will  chide 
his  erring  friend ;  and  he  that  does  not,  hates  him  in  his 
heart.  Sic  vigilet  tolerantia,  ut  non  dormiat  disciplina  (Aug. 
de  Verbis  Apost.  Serm.  22) :  So  let  patience  watch,  that  disci- 
pline sleep  not.  This  was  David's  desire,  "  Let  the  righteous 
smite  me,  it  shall  be  a  kindness ;  and  let  him  reprove  me, 
it  shall  be  an  excellent  oil,  which  shall  not  break  my  head," 
Psal.  cxli.  5.  Our  Saviour  took  this  course,  but  he  was  piti- 
ful in  it ;  not  "  breaking  the  bruised  reed,  nor  quenching 
the  smoking  flax,"  Matth.  xii.  20.  He  was  not  transported 
with  passion,  but  moved  with  tender  compassion  and  merci- 
ful affection.  "  He  was  moved  -svith  compassion  toward  the 
people,  seeing  them  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd,"  Mark  vi. 
36.  "  As  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so  the  Lord  pitieth 
them  that  fear  him,"  Psal.  ciii.  13.    And  children  are  vis- 


THE  BEST  PRECEDENT  OF  CHARITY. 


179 


ccra  purentum,  saith  Jerome  (In  Epist.  Paul  ad  Philem.)  ; 
the  very  bowels  of  the  parents.  Therefore  his  bowels  yearned 
within  him  when  he  saw  the  weakly  blind  led  by  the  wil- 
fully blind,  and  he  instructed  them.  It  is  no  small  mercy 
in  a  father  to  correct  his  erring  child. 

This  is  one  office  of  love  almost  quite  forgotten  in  the 
■world.  Our  eyes  and  ears  are  conscious  of  many  horrid  sins, 
whereof  we  make  also  our  souls  guilty  by  our  silence.  Like 
camelions,  we  turn  to  the  colour  of  our  company.  Oppres- 
sions that  draw  blood  of  the  commonwealth,  move  us  not. 
Oaths  that  totter  the  battlements  of  heaven,  wake  us  not. 
O  where  is  our  kindness !  whilst  we  do  not  reprove,  we  ap- 
prove these  iniquities.  He  is  conscious  of  secret  guiltiness 
that  forbeareth  to  resist  open  iniquity  (Greg).  Thou  sayest 
it  is  for  love's  sake  thou  sparest  reprehension.  Why,  if 
thou  love  thy  friend,  thou  wilt  gently  rebuke  his  faults.  If 
thou  love  thy  friend  never  so  dearly,  yet  thou  oughtest  to 
love  truth  more  dearly.  Let  not  then  the  truth  of  love  pre- 
judice the  love  of  truth. 

2.  Jn  Porrigendo,  reaching  forth  to  us  his  ample  mercies  : 
"  Giving  u.s  richly  all  things  to  enjoy,"  1  Tim.  vi.  17. 
Where  the  apostle  describes  God's  bounty,  that  he 


1.  Freely.  He  gives  without  exchange  ;  he  receives  no- 
thing for  that  he  gives.  Ungodly  men  have  honour,  wealth, 
health,  peace,  plenty.  Their  bellies  are  filled  with  his  trea- 
sure, and  they  do  not  so  much  as  return  him  thanks.  His 
sun  shines,  his  rain  falls  on  the  unjust  and  ungrateful  man's 
ground.  Man  when  he  gives,  et  rcspicit  et  recipit  gratitudi- 
iiem,  both  expects  and  accepts  thanks  and  a  return  of  love. 
God  hath  not  so  much  as  thanks.  For  the  good  they  are 
indeed  grateful ;  but  this  gratia  graii  (grace  to  be  grateful), 
is  gratia  gratijicantis  (grace  bestowed).    God  gives  them 


180 


this  grace  to  be  thankful,  and  thej-  may  bless  him  that  he 
stirs  them  up  to  bless  him. 

2.  Fully  and  richlj',  as  becomes  the  greatest  king.  A 
duke,  at  the  wedding-feast  of  his  <laughter,  caused  to  be 
brought  in  thirty  courses,  and  at  every  course  gave  so  many 
gifts  to  each  guest  at  the  table,  as  were  dishes  in  the  course. 
And  I  have  read  of  a  queen  that  feasted  her  guests  with 
wines  brewed  with  dissolved  precious  stones,  that  every 
draught  was  valued  at  an  hundred  crowns.  Here  was  royal 
entertainment ;  but  this  was  but  one  feast.  Such  bounty 
continued  would  quickly  consume  the  finite  means  of  any 
earthly  prince.  Only  God  is  "  rich  in  mercy,"  Eph.  ii.  4. 
His  treasury  fills  all  the  world,  without  cmptjing,  yea  im- 
pairing or  abating  itself. 

3.  Universally  ;  all  things.  The  king  hath  his  crown,  the 
great  man  his  honour,  the  mighty  his  strength,  the  rich  his 
wealth,  the  learned  his  knowledge,  the  mean  man  his  peace ; 
all  at  his  gift.  He  opens  his  hand  wide,  he  sparseth  abroad 
his  blessings,  and  fills  all  things  living  with  his  plenteous- 
ness. 

4.  Effectually ;  he  settles  these  gifts  upon  us.  As  he  gave 
them  without  others,  so  others  without  him  shall  never  be 
able  to  take  them  away.  As  he  created,  so  he  conserveth 
the  virtues  ;  strength  in  bread,  warmth  in  clothes,  and  gives 
iviiie  and  oil  their  effective  cheerfulness. 

Be  thou  so  kind  as  this  holy  and  heavenly  pattern,  not 
aiming  at  the  measure  which  is  inimitable,  but  leveUing  at 
the  manner  which  is  charitable.  Like  Job,  who  used  not 
to  "  eat  his  morsels  alone"  (Job  xxxi.  17) ;  neither  to  deny 
his  "  bread  to  the  hungry,"  nor  the  "  fleece  of  his  flock"  to 
the  cold  and  naked.  Let  thy  stock  of  kindness  be  liberal, 
though  th}-  stock  of  wealth  be  stinted.  Give  omni  pelenti, 
though  not  omnia  petenti ;  as  that  Father  excellently. 

4.  Constant. 

For  with  Christ  is  no  variableness,  "no  shadow  of  change" 
(Jam.  i.  17)  ;  but  "  whom  he  once  loves,  ho  loves  for  ever," 
John  xiii.  1.    Fickleness  is  for  a  Laban,  whose  "  counte- 


THE  BEST  PRECEDENT  OF  CHARITY.  181 

nance  will  turn  away  from  Jacob"  (Gen.  xxxi.  2),  and  his 
affection  fall  off  with  his  profit.  I  have  read  of  two  entire 
friends  well  deserving  for  their  virtues,  that  when  the  one 
was  promoted  to  great  wealth  and  dignity,  the  other  ne- 
glected in  obscurity ;  the  preferred,  though  he  could  not 
di\ide  his  honour,  yet  shared  his  wealth  to  his  old  compa- 
nion. Things  so  altered,  that  this  honoured  friend  was 
falsely  accused  of  treachery,  and  by  the  blow  of  suspicion, 
thrown  down  to  misery  ;  and  the  other,  for  his  now  ob- 
served goodness,  raised  up  to  a  high  place  ;  where  now  he 
rerpntes  his  dejected  friend  with  the  same  courtesy,  as  if 
their  minds  had  consented  and  contended  to  make  that 
equal  which  their  states  made  different.  O  for  one  drachm  of 
this  immutable  love  in  the  world  !  Honours  change  man- 
ners ;  and  we  will  not  know  those  in  the  court  wlio  often 
fed  us  in  the  country  ;  or  if  we  vouchsafe  to  acknowledge 
them  as  friends,  we  will  not  as  suitors.  Hereon  was  the 
verse  made  : — 

Quisquis  in  lioc  mundo  eunctis  vult  gratiis  haberi: 

Det,  capiat,  qujerat,  plurima,  pauca,  nihil. 

He  that  would  be  of  worldly  men  well  thought, 

Must  always  give,  take,  beg,  much,  little,  nought. 
Men  cannot  brook  poor  friends.    This  inconstant  charity 
is  hateful,  as  our  English  phrase  premonisheth — love  me 
little,  and  love  me  long. 

3.  This  Sicut  (so  as)  refines 
our  love.  "  Walk  in  love,  as  Christ  loved  us  ;"  where  as  is 
not  only  similitudinary,  but  casual.  "  Love,  because  Christ 
loved  us"  (1  John  iv.  19),  for  this  cause,  as  after  this  manner; 
which  serves  to  purify  our  love,  to  purge  it  from  corrup- 
tion, and  to  make  it  perfect.  Dilectio  Dei  nos  facit  ct  dili- 
gihiles  et  diligentes :  the  love  of  God  makes  us  both  such  as 
God  can  love,  and  such  as  can  love  God.  For  it  is  the 
love  of  Christ  to  us  that  works  a  love  to  Christ  in  us.  A 
man  will  ever  love  that  medicine  that  hath  freed  him  from 
some  desperate  disease.  Christ's  love  hath  healed  us  of 
all  our  sores  and  sins  ;  let  us  honour  and  love  this  medicine, 


182 


lovk's  copy  ;  or, 


compounded  of  so  precious  simples,  water  and  blood.  And 
let  us  not  only  affectionately  embnice  it  ourselves,  but  let 
us  invite  others  to  it ;  "  Come  and  hearken  all  ye  that  fear 
God,  and  I  will  declare  what  he  hath  done  for  my  soul," 
Psal.  Ixvi.  16. 

Christ. — I  have  Vjoen  so  punctual  in  tliis  word  of  qualitj-, 
that  I  can  but  mention  the  rest.  The  word  of  majesty  is 
Christ,  who  being  Almighty  God,  co-equal  and  co-eternal 
with  the  Father  and  the  Spirit,  took  on  him  our  nature, 
and  was  /actus  homo,  ut  pro  homine  pacaret  Deum :  God  was 
made  man,  that  for  man  he  might  appease  God.  Thus  did 
so  great  a  majesty  stoop  low  for  our  love  :  Nan  exuendo 
quod  habuit,  sed  induendo  quod  non  habnit :  not  by  loosing  what 
he  had,  but  by  accepting  what  he  had  not,  our  miserable 
nature.  Ipse  dilexit  7ios,  et  tantus  ct  tantum,  et  gratis  tantiUos 
et  tales  (Bern.  Tract.  dediligendoDeo).  He  that  was  so  great, 
loved  so  greatly  us  that  were  so  poor  and  unworthy,  freely. 

Loved  is  that  word  of  mercy,  that  reconciles  so  glo- 
rious a  God  to  so  ungracious  sinners.  The  cause  which 
moved  Christ  to  undertake  for  us,  was  no  merit  in  us,  but 
mere  mercy  in  him.  He  loved  us,  because  he  loved  us ; 
in  our  creation,  when  we  could  not  love  him  ;  in  our  re- 
demption, when  we  would  not  love  him.  Loved  us,  not 
but  that  he  loveth  us  still.  But  the  Apostle  speaks  in  this 
time,  to  distinguish  the  love  wherewith  he  now  loveth  us, 
from  that  whereby  he  once  loved  us.  "  For  if,  when  we 
were  enemies,  we  were  reconciled  to  God  by  his  death : 
much  more  being  reconciled,  we  shall  be  saved  bj'  liis  life," 
Rom  V.  10.  Though  it  be  also  true,  that  "  from  everlast- 
ing he  loved  us,"  Jer.  xxxi.  13. 

Us  is  the  word  of  misery;  Us  he  loved  that  were  so 
wretched.  The  word  is  indefinite  ;  us,  all  us.  Us  be  we 
never  so  unworthy  ;  all  us,  be  we  never  so  many. 

1.  Us  that  were  unworthy  of  his  love,  from  whom  he  ex- 
pected no  correspondence.     That  he  loved  the  blessed 


.V 


THE  BEST  PRECEDENT  OF  CHAHITY.  183 

angels  was  no  wonder,  because  tliey  ivitli  winged  obedience 
execute  his  bests,  "  and  do  his  word,"  Psalm  ciii.  20.  Yea, 
that  he  loved  his  very  reasonless  and  insensible  creatures,  is 
not  strange  ;  for  "  fire  and  hail,  snow  and  vapour,  stormy 
wind  and  tempest,  fulfil  his  word,"  Psalm  cxlviii.  8.  But 
to  love  us,  that  were  "  weak,  ungodly,  sinners,  enemies," 
(Rom.  v.  6-10)  ;  weak,  no  strength  to  deserve  ;  ungodly,  no 
pity  to  procure  ;  sinners,  no  righteousness  to  satisfy;  enemies, 
no  peace  to  atone  :  for  we  hated  him,  and  all  his  ;  "  ye 
shall  be  hated  of  all  men  for  my  name's  sake,"  Matth.  x. 
22  ; — to  love  such  us,  was  an  unexpectable,  a  most  mer- 
ciful love.  He  that  wanted  nothing,  loved  us  that  had  no- 
thing ;  immortal  eternity  loved  mortal  dust  and  ashes.  Oh 
if  a  man  had  ora  milk  fluentia  melle  (a  thousand  tongues 
distilling  honey),  yea,  the  tongues  of  angels,  he  could  not 
sufficiently  express  this  love.  "  So  God  loved  the  world" 
(John  iii.  1 6)  :  mnmhim  tmmundum,  the  unclean  world  ;  that 
not  only  not  "  received  him"  (John  i.  11),  but  even  cruci- 
fied and  killed  him. 

2.  All  of  us,  without  exception  of  persons.  This  is  the 
"  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world," 
John  i.  29.  The  Gospel  proclaims  an  universal  si  quis ; 
"  whosoever  believes,  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved."  Qui 
seipsum  excipit,  seipsum  decipit :  he  that  excepts  himself, 
beguiles  his  own  soul.  Hence  I  find  three  inferences  ob- 
servable, which  I  will  commend  to  your  consciences,  and 
your  consciences  to  God. 

Dilecti     ^  r  Loved.  ^ 

Dilectos    y  diligamus.  <  Loved  ones.  >-  Let  us  love. 

Diligentes  )  (^The  loving.  ) 

1.  We  are  loved  ourselves,  therefore  let  us  love.  He 
that  bids  us  love,  loved  us  fii-st.  "  This  is  my  command- 
ment, that  ye  love  one  another."  Why?  "  As  I  loved  you," 
John  XV.  12.  Non  aliud  jussit,  qtiam  gessit:  he  chargeth 
us  with  nothing  in  precept  which  he  performed  not  in 
practice.    Therefore,  si  tardi  sumus  ad  amandum,  non  tardi 


184 


simiis  ad  redamandum :  though  we  have  not  been  forward 
to  love  first,  let  us  not  be  baukward  to  return  love.  Dikcti 
diligite.  "  If  God  so  loved  us,  we  ought  also  to  love  one 
another."  1  John  v.  11.  Magnus  amoris  amor:  (great  is  the 
love  of  love) ;  and  the  sole  requital  which  God  requires  for 
his  rich  love,  is  our  poor  love  ;  that  only  may  love  him,  but 
have  nothing  to  give  him  that  is  not  his. 

2.  They  are  beloved  whom  thou  art  charged  to  love. 
He  that  bids  us  love  others,  loves  them  himself  It  is  fit 
we  should  love  those  whom  Christ  loves.  If  thou  love 
Christ,  thou  art  bound  to  love  others,  because  he  loves 
them ;  yea,  with  that  very  same  love  wherewith  he  loves 
thee.  Therefore  dilectos  diligamus:  (let  us  love  the  loved 
ones.) 

3.  They  also  love  God,  whom  God  commands  thee  to 
love.  The  love  of  Christ  is  so  shed  abroad  into  all  Chris- 
tians' hearts,  that  they  unfeignedly  affect  Jesus  their  Saviour. 
They  loved  him  whom  thou  lovest,  therefore  love  them. 
It  is  fit  we  should  love  them  highly  that  love  God  heartily. 
Therefore  diligentes  diligamus:  (the  lo%'ing  let  us  love.) 

Thus  you  have  heard  love's  walk  or  race ;  now,  then, 
saith  Paul,  "  So  run  that  you  may  obtain."  I  will  end  with 
an  apologue,  an  epilogue,  a  parable.  Charity,  and  certain 
other  rivals,  or  indeed  enemies,  would  run  a  race  together. 
The  prize  they  all  ran  for  was  FeUcity ;  which  was  held  up 
at  the  goal's  end  by  a  bountiful  lady  called  Eternity.  The 
runners  were  Pride,  Prodigality,  Envy,  Covetousness,  Lust, 
Hypocrisy,  and  Love.  All  the  rest  were  either  diverse  or 
adverse  neighbours  or  enemies  to  Charity.  I  will  herald- 
like shew  you  their  several  equipage,  how  they  begin  the 
race  and  end  it. 

1 .  Pride,  you  know,  must  be  foremost ;  and  that  comes 
out  like  a  Spaniard,  with  daring  look,  and  a  tongue  thun- 
dering out  braves,  mounted  on  a  spirited  jennet  named 
Insolence.  His  plumes  and  perfumes  amaze  the  beholders' 
eyes  and  nostrils.  He  runs  as  if  he  would  overthrow  giants 
and  dragon  ;  yea,  even  the  great  Red-di-agon,  if  he  encoun- 
tered him  ;  and  with  his  lance  burst  open  heaven  gates. 


THE  BEST  PRECEDENT  OF  CHARITY. 


185 


•But  his  jennet  stumbles,  and  down  comes  Pride.  You 
know  bow  wise  a  king  hath  read  his  destiny :  "  Pride  will 
have  a  f.dl." 

2.  The  next  is  Prodigality  ;  and  because  he  takes  himself 
for  the  true  Charity,  he  must  be  second  at  least.  This  is  a 
young  gallant,  and  the  horse  he  rides  on  is  Luxury.  He 
goes  a  thundering  pace,  that  you  would  not  think  it  possible 
to  overtake  him  ;  but  before  he  is  got  a  quarter  of  the  way, 
he  is  spent,  all  spent,  ready  to  beg  of  those  that  begged 
of  him. 

3.  Env)'  will  be  next,  a  lean  meagre  thing,  full  of  mali- 
cious mettle,  but  hath  almost  no  flesh.  The  horse  he  rides 
on  is  Malcontent.  lie  would  in  his  journey  first  cut  some 
thousand  throats,  or  powder  a  whole  kingdom,  blow  up  a 
state,  and  then  set  on  to  heaven.  But  the  hangman  sets 
up  a  gallows  in  his  way,  whereat  he  runs  full  butt,  and 
breaks  his  neck. 

4.  Then  comes  sneaking  out  Covetousness,  a  hunger- 
starred  usurer,  that  sells  wheat  and  eats  beans ;  many  men 
are  in  his  debt,  and  he  is  most  in  his  own  debt ;  for  he 
never  paid  his  belly  and  back  a  quarter  of  their  dues.  He 
rides  on  a  thin  hobbling  jade  called  Unconscionableness, 
which,  for  want  of  a  worse  stable,  he  lodgeth  in  his  own 
heart.  He  promiseth  his  soul  to  bring  her  to  heaven  ;  but 
taiTying  to  enlarge  his  bams,  he  lost  opportunity  and  the 
prize  of  salvation  ;  and  so  fell  two  blows  short — Faith  and 
Kcpentance. 

5.  Lust  hath  gotten  on  Love's  cloak,  and  will  venture  to 
run.  A  leprous  wretch,  and  riding  on  a  trotting  beast,  a 
he-goat,  was  almost  shaken  to  pieces.  Diseases  do  so  cramp 
him,  that  he  is  fain  to  sit  down  with  I'ce  misero:  (alas! 
wetch  that  I  am)  ;  and  without  the  help  of  a  good  doctor 
or  a  surgeon,  he  is  like  never  to  see  a  comfortable  end  of 
his  journey. 

6.  Hypocrisy  is  glad  that  he  is  next  to  Charity  ;  and  per- 
suades that  they  two  are  brother  and  sister.  He  is  horsed 
on  a  halting  hackney  (for  he  does  but  borrow  him)  called 
Dissimulation.   As  he  goes,  he  is  offering  every  man  his  hand, 


186  love's  copy  ;  or,  the  best  precedent  op  charity. 

but  it  is  still  empty.  He  leans  on  Charity's  shoulder,  and 
protests  great  love  to  her ;  but  when  she  tries  him  to  bor- 
row a  little  money  of  him  for  some  merciful  purpose,  he 
pleads  he  hath  not  enough  to  serve  him  to  his  journey's  end. 
He  goes  forward  like  an  angel,  but  his  trusted  horse  throws 
him,  and  discovers  him  a  devil. 

7.  The  last  named,  but  first  and  only  that  comes  to  the 
prize  at  the  goal's  end,  is  Charity.  She  is  an  humble  virtue, 
not  mounted  as  other  racers,  but  goes  on  foot.  She  spares 
from  her  own  belly  to  relieve  those  poor  pUgrims  that  travel 
with  her  to  heaven.  She  hath  two  virgins  that  bear  her 
company ;  Innocence  and  Patience.  She  does  no  hurt  to 
others — she  sufiers  much  of  others  ;  yet  was  she  never  heard 
to  curse.  Her  language  is  blessing,  and  she  shall  for  ever 
inherit  it.  Three  celestial  graces.  Glory,  Immortality,  and 
Eternity,  hold  out  a  crown  to  her.  And  when  Faith  and 
Hope  have  lifted  her  up  to  heaven,  they  take  their  leave 
of  her ;  and  the  bosom  of  everlasting  Mercy  receives  her. 


GOD'S  BOUNTY; 

OB. 

THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BOTH  HIS  HANDS. 

Length  of  days  Is  tn  her  right  hand  ■  and  In  her  left  hand,  riches  and  honour." - 
iV».lil.J«. 


GOD'S  BOUNTY; 


OE, 

THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BOTH  HIS  HANDS. 

*  Length  of  days  is  In  her  right  hand :  and  In  her  left  hand,  riches  and  honour.'*— 
iVo».  111.  16. 

By  Wisdom  here  we  understand  the  Son  of  God,  the 
Saviour  of  man.  In  the  fii-st  to  the  Corinthians  he  is  called 
the  "  Wisdom"  of  God  (1  Cor.  i.  24).  "  In  him  are  hid 
all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge,"  Col.  ii.  3. 

AVisdom  is  formerly  commended  for  her  beauty — here  for 
her  bounty.  "  Length  of  days  is  in  her  right  hand  ;  in  her 
left  riches  and  honour."  Conceive  lier  a  glorious  queen 
sitting  on  a  throne  of  majesty,  and  calling  her  children  about 
her  to  the  participation  of  those  riches  which  from  ever- 
lasting she  had  decreed  them. 

Not  to  travel  far  for  distribution,  the  parts  of  this  text 
are  as  easily  distinguished  as  the  right  hand  fi-om  the  left. 
Here  be  two  hands,  and  they  contain  two  sorts  of  treasures. 
The  right  hand  hath  in  it  length  of  days ;  the  left,  riches  and 
honour. 

The  right  hand 

is  upon  good  reason  preferred,  both  for  its  oivn  worth 
whereby  it  excels,  and  for  the  worth  of  the  treasure  which 
it  contains.    It  hath  ever  had  the  dignity  as  the  dexterity. 

Length  of  days 

is  the  treasure  it  holds.  This  cannot  be  properly  under- 
stood of  this  mortal  life ;  though  the  .sense  may  also  stand 


190  god's  bounty;  or, 

good  with  such  an  interpretation.  "  For  by  me,"  saith  Wis- 
dom, "  thy  days  shall  be  multiplied  ;  and  the  years  of  thy  life 
shall  be  increased,"  Prov.  ix.  11.  AVisdom  is  the  mother 
of  abstinence,  and  abstinence  the  nurse  of  health  ;  whereas 
voluptuousness  and  intemperance  (as  the  French  proverb 
hath  it)  dig  their  own  grave  with  their  teeth. 

But  all  a  man's  wisdom  cannot  keep  him  still  alive.  "  The 
wise  nian  dieth  as  the  fool,"  saith  Solomon,  Eccles.  ii.  16. 
And  the  father  of  Solomon  excludes  it  from  having  power 
to  keep  a  man,  "  that  he  should  live  for  ever,  and  not  see 
corruption,"  Psalm  xlix.  9.  Methuselah  hved  nine  hun- 
dred sixty  and  nine  years,  yet  he  was  the  son  of  Enoch, 
who  was  the  son  of  Jared,  who  was  the  son  of  Mahaleel, 
who  was  the  son  of  Cainan,  who  was  the  son  of  Enos,  who 
was  the  son  of  Seth,  who  was  the  son  of  Adam,  who  was 
the  son  of  dust.  The  best  constitutions  that  communicate 
in  the  sanguine  of  the  rose,  and  snow  of  the  lily,  have  this 
parentage  ;  they  are  the  sons  and  daughters  of  dust. 

This  length  then  is  not  subject  to  the  poles,  nor  are  these 
days  measured  by  the  sun  in  his  zodiac ;  all  b  pitched  above 
the  wheel  of  changeable  mortality.  It  is  eternity  that  fills 
the  right  hand  of  Wisdom. 

Length  of  days.  j^T^'J  ^^^f  ^"f'^^^f 
•'     *'     ^     j_  Length  for  the  etenuty. 

Dates. — ^Man's  life  in  this  world  is  called  a  day ;  a  short 
day,  a  sharp  day.  Short,  for  instat  vesper.  It  is  not  sooner 
morning,  but  it  is  presently  night.  The  sun  of  life  quickly 
sets,  after  it  is  once  risen.  Sharp ;  for  miserj-  is  borne  with 
life,  brought  up  with  life,  and  to  the  good  dies  with  life  ;  to 
the  wicked  remains  in  death.  Like  Hippocrates'  twins,  in- 
separable in.  their  beginning,  process,  end.  So  that  aged 
patriarch  to  Pharaoh,  "My  days  have  been  few  and  evil," 
Gen.  xlvii.  9.  So  Job,  "Man  is  of  few  days,  and  many 
troubles,"  Job  xiv.  1.  Animal  cevi  hrevissimi,  solicitudinis 
infinitcB  (Petrarch).  And  Paul  calls  it  "  the  evil  day," 
Eph.  vi.  13.    It  is  somewhat  to  comfort,  that  though  it  be 


THE  BLESSnSGS  OF  BOTH  HIS  HANDS.  191 

sharp,  evil ;  yet  it  is  but  short,  a  day.  "  Redeem  the 
time,  for  the  days  are  evil,"  Eph.  v.  16.  But  howsoever 
semper  mali  dies  in  seculo,  yet  semper  honi  dies  in  Domino,  as 
Augustine  sweetly  (In  Psal.  xxxiii.)  Though  the  world  hath 
always  evil  days,  yet  God  hath  always  good  days. 

And  this  day  shall  have  no  night.  Nox  non  erit  illic. 
"  There  shall  be  no  night,"  Rev.  xxi.  25.  The  sun  that 
enlightens  it  cannot  be  eclipsed.  "  That  city  hath  no  need 
of  the  sun,  neither  of  the  moon,  to  shine  in  it :  for  the  glory 
of  God  doth  Ughten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  Ught  of  it,"  Rev. 
xxi.  23.  No  clouds  shall  draw  a  veil  of  obscurity  over  it. 
Here  the  light  of  the  sun  darkens  the  moon,  and  the  moon 
obscures  the  lustre  of  the  stars.  Sometimes  half  the  earth 
is  in  light,  the  rest  in  darkness. 

But  in  these  days,  albeit  "  there  is  one  glory  of  the  sun, 
another  of  the  moon,  and  another  of  the  stars ;  and  one 
star  diflFereth  from  another  star  in  glory"  (1  Cor.  xv.  41)  ; 
yet  the  light  of  one  increaseth  the  light  of  another,  and  the 
glory  of  one  is  the  glory  of  all.  Dispar  est  gloria  singulo- 
rum,  sed  communis  IcBtitia  omnium  (Aug.  Medit.  cap.  25). 
So,  in  sum,  here  we  live  but  a  short  day ;  "  Give  us  this 
day  our  daily  bread."  But  in  that  world  we  shall  have  days, 
and  those  good  days,  and  great  days— days  of  eternal 
length,  for  they  shall  have  no  night. 

Length. — ^As  the  glory  is  clear  for  the  countenance,  so 
it  is  long  for  the  continuance.  Nullus  erit  defectiis,  mdlus 
terminus :  (there  vdll  be  neither  defect  nor  end).  There  shall 
be  aeterna  charitas,  chara  CBternitas :  (eternal  love,  and  a 
beloved  eternity).  God's  eternal  decree  to  choose  us  in  Christ 
had  no  beginning,  but  it  shall  have  an  end,  when  the  elect 
are  taken  up  to  glory.  The  possession  of  this  decreed  in- 
heritance shall  have  a  beginning,  but  no  end :  "  We  shall 
be  ever  with  the  Lord"  (1  Thess.  iv.  17).  God's  mercy  in 
both  hath  neither  beginnmg  nor  end,  for  it  is  from  everlast- 
ing to  everlasting. 

Here,  then,  is  both  the  countenance,  it  is  a  clear  day ; 
and  the  contmuance,  it  is  of  length,  the  very  same  length 


192  god's  BOUNTY  :  OB, 

that  everlastingness  itself.  Hezekiah's  day  was  a  long  day 
when  "  the  shadow  of  the  sun  went  ten  degrees  backward 
in  the  dial  of  Ahaz,"  2  Kings  xx.  11.  Joshua  had  a  long 
day  when  the  sun  stood  still  in  Gibeon,  and  the  moon  in 
the  valley  of  Ajalon.  "  And  there  was  no  day  like  that 
before  it  or  after  it,"  Josh.  x.  14.  But  both  these  days 
had  their  nights,  and  the  long  forbearing  sun  at  last  did 
set.  Here  the  days  are  so  long,  that  it  shall  never  be 
night.  You  see  the  clearness  and  the  length ;  both  are 
expressed  in  Daniel — "  They  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the 
firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness,  as 
the  stars,"  Dan.  xii.  3.  There  is  the  brightness  :  and  that 
ever  and  ever ;  there  is  the  eternity. 

There  is  nothing  made  perfectly  happy  but  by  eternity, 
as  nothing  but  eternity  can  make  perfect  misery.  Were 
thy  hfe  a  contmued  scene  of  pleasures,  on  whose  stage  grief 
durst  never  set  his  unwelcome  foot ;  were  the  spoil  of 
Noah's  ark  the  cates  of  thy  table ;  hadst  thou  king  Solo- 
mon's wardrobe  and  treasury ;  did  the  West  Indies  send 
thee  all  its  gold,  and  the  East  its  spices,  and  all  these  lying 
by  thee  whiles  a  late  succession  of  years  without  cares 
snows  white  upon  thy  head  ;  thou  wert  ever  indulgent  to 
thyself,  and  health  to  thee.  Yet  suddenly  there  comes  an 
impartial  pursuivant,  Death,  and  he  hath  a  charge  to  take 
thee  away  medio  de  fonte  leporum  (from  the  fountain  of  plea- 
sures), bathing  thyself  in  thy  delights.  Alas  !  what  is  all 
thy  glory  but  a  short  play,  full  of  mirth  till  the  last  act,  and 
that  goes  off  in  a  traged}'.  Couldst  thou  not  have  made 
death  more  welcome,  if  he  had  found  thee  lying  on  a  pad  of 
straw,  feeding  on  crusts  and  water-gruel  ?  Is  not  thy  pain 
the  more  troublesome  because  thou  wast  well  ?  Doth  not 
the  end  of  these  temporary  joys  afflict  thee  more  than  if  they 
had  never  been  ?  Only  then  eternity  can  give  perfection  to 
pleasure ;  which  because  this  world  cannot  afford,  let  us 
reckon  of  it  as  it  is,  a  mere  thoroughfare,  and  desire  our 
home,  where  we  shall  be  happy  for  ever. 


THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BOTH  HIS  HANDS.  193 


In  her  left  hand.,  riches  and  honour. 
The  gift  of  the  rirjht  hand  is  large  and  eternal ;  of  the 
left^  short  and  temporal.    Yet  you  see  I  am  short  in  the 
long  part,  give  nie  leave  to  be  long  in  the  short  part.  Herein 
we  have  many  things  considerable. 

1.  That  riches  and  honour  are  God's  gifts. 

2.  That  all  are  not  so,  but  some ;  and  therefore  it  is  ne- 
cessary for  us  to  learn  whether  God  gave  unto  us  that 
riches  and  honour  which  we  have. 

3.  That  albeit  they  are  his  gifts,  yet  but  the  gifts  of  his 
left  hand. 

4.  That  wealth  and  worship  are  for  the  most  part  com- 
panions, for  both  those  gifts  lie  in  one  and  the  same  hand. 

1.  Riches  and  honour  are  God's  gifts,  therefore  in  them- 
selves not  evil.  Sunt  Dei  dona,  ergo  in  se  bona  :  (they  are 
God's  bounties,  and  therefore  man's  dainties).  Saith 
Augustine,  Ne  putentur  mala,  dantur  et  bonis:  ne  putentur 
summa  bona,  dantur  et  malis  (Epist.  70,  ad  Bonif)  :  That 
they  may  not  be  thought  evil,  they  are  given  to  good  men  ; 
that  they  may  not  be  thought  the  best  good,  they  are  given 
also  to  evil  men.  A  rich  man  may  be  a  good  man,  and  a 
poor  man  may  be  wicked.  Christ  sanctified  riches  as  well 
as  poverty ; 

! Birth, 
Life, 
Death. 

1.  In  his  birth  he  sanctified  poverty,  when  his  chamber  of 
presence  was  a  stable,  his  cradle  a  manger,  his  royal  robes 
coarse  rags.  He  sanctified  riches  when  he  received  of  the 
wLse  men  precious  gifts,  "  gold,  frankincense,  and  myiTh," 
Matth.  ii.  11.  Quce  si  fuissent  ipsissima  mala,  dedignatus 
esset.  Which,  if  they  had  been  simply  evil,  he  would  not 
have  accepted. 

2.  In  his  life  he  sanctified  poverty,  when  he  was  main- 
tained eleemosATiarily,  having  no  garment  to  put  on,  and 


194 


god's  bounty;  or, 


the  good  women  kept  him  by  their  contributions.  He  was 
glad  to  borrow  an  ass's  colt  when  he  was  to  ride,  and  to 
angle  for  money  in  the  sea  when  he  paid  tribute ;  and  (as 
if  he  wanted  a  bed)  to  complain,  "  the  foxes  have  holes, 
and  the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests  ;  but  the  Son  of  man 
hath  not  where  to  rest  his  head,"  Matth.  viii.  20.  He 
sanctified  riches  when  he  called  Zaccheus  (Luke  xix.  2),  a 
wealthy  usurer,  and  raised  Lazarus  (John  xi.  44),  a  wealthy 
citizen  ;  had  his  steward  (John  xii.  6)  which  gave  alms  to 
the  distressed,  and  bore  his  purse  ;  and  like  a  prince, 
feasted  thousands  at  one  banquet. 

3.  In  his  death.  He  sanctified  poverty  when  he  had  not 
a  grave  of  his  own,  but  was  buried  in  another  man's  se- 
pulchre (Luke,  xxiii.  53)  ;  nay,  not  a  sheet  to  >vrap  him 
in,  but  was  beholden  to  another  for  his  linen  ;  and  even 
dying,  converted  a  poor  malefactor  on  the  cross  by  him. 
He  sanctified  riches  when  he  accepted  the  kindness  of 
Joseph  (whom  Matthew  calls  a  "  rich  man,"  Matt,  xxvii. 
67,  Mark  an  "  honourable"  Mark,  xv.  42)  for  liis  sepul- 
ture ;  and  Nicodemus's  costly  unction,  even  an  hundi-ed 
pound  weight,  mixed  with  myrrh  and  aloes  (John  xix.  39.) 

Though  riches  be  to  some  pernicious,  a  fuming  wine  which 
turns  their  brains,  yet  to  others  they  are  a  vessel  wherein 
they  may  ivith  more  speed  sail  to  heaven,  though  no  com- 
pass, star,  or  cause  to  bring  them  thither.  Others  are 
called  by  David  viri  divitiarum,  men  of  riches,  because  they 
possess  not  their  riches,  but  their  riches  have  subjugated 
them.  AVe  have  a  kind  of  presage,  though  we  conceive  it 
not,  in  saj-ing  of  such  a  one,  He  is  a  man  of  wealth.  The 
speech  signifies  him  a  slave  to  his  riches ;  the  wealth  is  not 
the  man's,  but  the  man  the  wealth's. 

But  otherwise  a  rich  man  may  be  a  good  man  :  for 
wickedness  is  not  bound  to  wealthiness,  as  heat  is  to  fire  : 
and  arrogancy  or  lewdness  may  be  incident  to  poverty  and 
baseness.  Pauper  superbus  :  a  poor  man  proud  was  one  of 
Cj-prian's  twelve  abuses.  A  rotten  log  will  jield  as  much 
sawdust  as  a  piece  of  good  timber  ;  and  a  peasant  ill-nur- 
tured is  also  ill-natured.      A  great  gentleman  will  shew 


THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BOTH  HIS  HANDS.  195 

more  humble  courtesy  than  a  thrashing  hind  or  a  toiUng 
ploughman.  Hagar  was  but  a  gipsy,  a  bondwoman  ;  yet 
was  her  e-xcellent  mistress  Sarah  despised  in  her  eyes,  Gen. 
xvi.  4.  As  Jerome  reproved  the  monks,  Quid  facit  sub 
tunica  pcenilenlis  recjius  animus :  (what  business  has  a  lordly 
spirit  under  the  garb  of  penitence?)  so  not  seldom  a  rus- 
set coat  shrouds  as  high  a  heart  as  a  silken  garment.  You 
shall  have  a  paltry  cottage  send  up  more  black  smoke  than 
a  goodly  manor.  It  is  not  wealth,  therefore,  but  vice,  that 
e-xcludes  men  out  of  heaven. 

The  friars  and  Jesuits  have  very  strongly  and  strangely 
backbitten  riches  ;  but  all  their  railing  on  it  is  but  behind 
the  back  :  secretly  and  in  their  hearts  they  love  it.  AVheu 
they  are  out  of  the  reach  of  eyes,  then  gold  is  their  sun  by 
day,  and  silver  their  moon  by  night.  Some  of  them  for 
enforced  want,  like  the  fox,  dispraise  the  grapes  they  cannot 
reach.  Or  as  Eusebius  notes  of  Licinius  the  emperor, 
that  he  used  to  r:ul  at  learning,  and  to  say  notliing  worse 
became  a  prince,  because  himself  was  illiterate.  So  they 
commend  nothing  more  than  poverty,  because  they  are,  and 
must  be,  poor  against  their  wills. 

Others  of  them  find  fault  -svith  riches,  whereof  they  have 
great  store  ;  but  would  that  none  should  covet  it  beside 
themselves  !  So  the  cozening  epicure  made  all  his  fellow- 
guests  believe  that  the  banquet  was  poisoned,  that  all  they 
refusing  he  might  glut  himself  alone.  These  often  cheat 
themselves,  and  work  their  ovm  bane  :  whilst  they  so  beat 
off  others  from  the  world,  and  wrap  themselves  up  in  it  to 
their  confusion.  The  fox  in  the  fable,  with  divers  other 
beasts,  found  a  rich  booty  of  costly  robes  and  jewels.  He 
persuades  the  lion  that  he  needs  not  trouble  himself  with 
them,  because  he  is  king,  and  may  command  all  at  his  plea- 
sure. He  tells  the  stag,  that  if  he  should  put  them  on,  they 
would  so  molest  him,  that  he  could  not  escape  the  hunts- 
man. For  the  boar,  he  says  they  would  evil  favouredly  be- 
come him  :  and  the  wolf  he  shuffles  off  with  the  false  news 
of  a  fold  of  lambs  hard  by,  which  would  do  him  more  good. 
So  all  gone,  he  begins  to  put  on  the  robes  himself,  and  to 


196  god's  bounty  ;  or, 

rejoice  in  his  lucky  fraud.  But  instantly  came  the  owners 
and  surprised  him ;  who  had  so  puzzled  himself  in  these 
habiliments,  that  he  could  not  by  flight  escape  :  so  they 
took  him  and  hanged  him  up. 

The  subtle  foxes,  Jesuits  and  friars,  dissuade  kings  from 
coveting  wealth,  because  of  their  power  to  command  all ; 
and  great  men,  because  it  will  make  them  envied  and 
hunted  after  for  their  trappings.  Countr}-men  it  will  not  be- 
come, they  say  :  and  all  the  rest,  that  it  will  hinder  their 
journey  to  heaven.  So,  in  conclusion,  they  drive  all  away, 
and  get  the  whole  world  for  their  master  the  pope  and  them- 
selves. But  at  last  these  foxes  are  caught  in  their  own 
noose  ;  for  the  devil  finds  them  so  wapped  and  hampered  in 
these  ornaments,  and  their  hearts  so  besotted  on  money  and 
riches,  that  he  carries  them  with  as  much  ease  to  hell  as  the 
chariot  drew  Pharaoh  into  the  Red  Sea. 

For  us  beloved,  we  teach  you  not  to  cast  away  the  bag, 
but  covetousness.  Xon  faciiltatem,  sed  cupiditatem  repre- 
hendimus:  (we  condemn  not  wealth  but  covetousness.)  "SVe  bid 
you  use  the  world,  but  enjoy  the  Lord.  And  if  you  have 
wealth,  "  make  you  friends  with  your  riches  :  that  they"  (so 
made  friends  by  your  charity)  "  may  receive"  (and  make 
way  for)  you  "  into  everlasting  habitations,"  Luke  xvi.  9.  It 
is  not  your  riches  of  this  world,  but  your  riches  of  grace,  that 
shall  do  your  souls  good.  "  Not  my  wealth,  nor  my  blood, 
but  my  Christianity,  makes  me  noble,"  quoth  that  noble 
mart}T  Romanus.  And  though  the  philosopher  merrily, 
when  he  was  asked  whether  were  better,  Wisdom  or  riches  ? 
answered.  Riches :  for  I  have  often,  said  he,  seen  poor  wise 
men  at  rich  fools'  doors,  but  never  rich  fools  at  poor  wise 
men's  doors.  Yet  wealth  may  be  joined  with  wisdom, 
goodness  with  greatness.  Mary  and  Martha  may  be  sisters  : 
righteousness  and  riches  may  dwell  together. 

Chrysostom  on  that  aphorism  of  Christ,  "  Te  csnnot 
serve  God  and  mammon"  (Matth.  vi.  24),  observes  that  he 
doth  not  say.  Ye  cannot  have  God  and  mammon  ;  but  ye 
cannot  serve  God  and  mammon  :  for  he  that  is  the  servant 
of  God  must  be  the  master  of  his  wealth.    The  Lord  Jesus 


THE  ELESSING3  OF  BOTH  HIS  HANDS.  197 

is  able  to  sanctify  and  save  the  rich  man's  soul  as  well  as  the 
poor  man's  :  and  to  send  poor  Lazarus  into  the  bosom  of  rich 
Abraham.  Where  consider  not  only  qui  sublatiis,  but  quo 
suhlatus :  (who  was  raised,  but  whither  he  was  raised)  :  Aug. 
in  Psal.  li.  Poor  but  good  Lazaras  is  carried  into  rich 
but  good  Abraham's  bosom,  to  signify  that  neither 
poverty  deserves  heaven,  nor  riches  hell.  Divitioe  non  ini- 
qiice,  sed  iniquis :  Riches  are  not  unrighteous  but  to  the 
unrighteous.  Nec  culpabile  est  habere  ista  ;  sed  hcerere  islis  : 
It  is  not  a  sin  to  have  them,  but  to  trust  them. 

As  much  might  be  said  for  honour.  It  is  the  Lord  that 
advanceth.  "  Those  that  honour  me,  I  will  honour,"  saith 
God,  1  Sam.  ii.  30.  It  is  God,  saith  Job,  that  putteth 
on  the  king's  girdle,  that  fasteneth  bis  honour  about  him. 
Promotion  cometh  neither  from  the  east,  nor  from  the  west, 
nor  from  north  nor  south,  but  only  fi-om  the  Lord.  Hence 
it  follows,  that  gi'eat  men  may  be  good  men  :  yea,  hence  it 
should  follow,  that  great  men  ought  to  be  good  men. 

They  may  be  good.  Christ  had  his  faithful  followers 
even  in  Caesar's  family.  Bernard  indeed  complained  that 
the  court  is  wont  to  receive  good  men,  but  to  make  them 
bad  men  (De  Consid.  lib.  iv.)  Bonus  facilius  recipere, 
quam  facere  :  and  Plures  illic  defecisse  bpnos,  quam  pro/ecisse 
malos :  The  court  doth  sooner  take  good  men  than  make 
good  men.  There  more  good  are  perverted  to  evil  than 
evU  converted  to  good.  Yet  in  the  court  of  Pharaoh  was  a 
good  Joseph  :  in  the  court  of  Darius  a  good  Daniel  :  in 
the  court  of  Ahasuerus  a  good  Mordecai.  Neither  is  it 
ever  true,  that  Quo  quis  corruptior  moribus,  et  corrumpentior 
muneribus :  the  more  a  man  is  corrupt  with  vices,  and  cor- 
rupting with  bribes,  so  much  the  more  set  by.  The  Phari- 
sees' objection  is  sometimes  false  :  "  Have  any  of  the  rulers 
believed  on  him?"  (John  vii.  48).  They  may  be  good  ; 
yea, 

They  must  be  good.  For  they  are  unprinted  statutes, 
whereout  every  man  reads  his  duty.  They  are  lerjis  fucto- 
res  (law  makers)  ;  and  therefore  should  not  be  legis  frac- 
tores  (law-breakers).    Aristotle  calls  them  loquentes  leges 


198  god's  bounty  ;  or, 

(speaking  laws).  Inferiors  often  set  their  eyes  to  supply  the 
place  of  their  ears,  and  rather  look  to  see  their  duty 
than  to  hear  it.  All  should  live  by  precept,  but  most  will 
live  by  precedent.  A  superior,  therefore,  should  teach  men 
to  take  the  measure  of  his  greatness  by  his  goodness.  These 
two  should  be  of  an  even  length,  of  an  equal  pace.  If 
honour  outruns  honesty,  it  will  hardly  be  overtaken.  Let 
such  an  one  appear  to  the  people  as  he  would  have  them  be  ; 
and  be  himself  such  an  one  as  he  appears.  A  great  person 
is  like  a  great  hill,  which  gives  a  fair  prospect,  but  is  sub- 
ject to  the  lightning  and  thunder  of  censures. 

2.  But  it  may  here  be  objected,  that  if  riches  and  honour 
be  God's  gifts,  then  is  he  the  giver  of  Judas's  wealth  and 
Haman's  honour.  Perhaps  you  would  here  learn  whether 
your  riches  and  honours  come  from  God  or  no  :  your  de- 
mand is  requisite,  and  I  will  strive  to  give  you  satisfaction. 

First,  for  Riches. 

{Honestly  gotten. 
Justly  disposed. 
Patiently  lost. 

1.  They  are  well  gotten  :  for  God  is  not  the  patron  of 
unjust  gains.  He  can  bless  a  man  well  enough  without  the 
help  of  the  devil.  There  are  m.-my  that  will  have  wealth, 
though  they  go  a-fishing  for  it,  either  with  Habakkuk's 
net  or  Ophni's  hook,  Hab.  i.  15.  They  do  not  only 
trouble  the  waters  for  it,  but  they  bloody  the  waters  ;  fetch 
it  out  of  the  bowels  and  life  blood  of  the  poor.  This  is 
not  from  God,  nor  will  he  bless  it.  But  "  as  it  was  ga- 
thered of  the  hire  of  a  harlot,  so  it  shall  return  to  the  hire 
of  a  harlot,"  ilicah  i.  7. 

It  is  easy  for  that  man  to  be  rich  that  will  make  his  con- 
science poor.  He  that  will  defraud,  forswear,  bribe,  op- 
press, serve  the  time,  use,  abuse  aU  men,  all  things,  swallow 
any  wickedness,  cannot  escape  riches.  AATiereas  he  whose 
conscience  will  not  admit  of  advancing  or  advantaging  him- 
self by  indirect  means,  sits  down  T\-ith  contented  poverty. 


THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BOTH  HIS  HANDS.  ISO 

But  bomia  non  cito  evasit  dives :  A  good  man  seldom  bc^ 
comes  rich  on  the  sudden.  Wealtli  comes  not  easily,  not 
quickly,  to  the  honest  door.  Neither  let  us  envy  the  gravel 
that  sticks  in  the  throat  of  injustice.  For  he  that  will 
swallow  the  bait  which  hangs  on  the  line  of  another  man's 
estate  shall  be  choked  with  it.  Of  riches  let  us  never  de- 
sire more  than  an  honest  man  may  well  bear  away.  3Ial- 
Icm  mi  miserum  sanctum  quam  prospcriim  peccalorem:  I  had 
rather  be  a  miserable  saint  than  a  prosperous  sinner,  When 
the  raising  of  thy  roof  is  the  razing  of  another's  foundation, 
"  the  stones  shall  cry  out  of  the  wall,  and  the  beam  out  of 
the  timber  shall  answer  it,"  Ilab.  ii.  11.  Thus  noii  acci- 
pimtis  (lata,  sed  aripimus  prohibita :  we  take  not  things  with 
a  beggar's  hand,  but  with  a  tjTant's :  they  are  not  God's 
gifts  but  our  felonies. 

For  this  cause  riches  are  ciiUed  Bona  forttuice,  the  goods 
of  fortune ;  not  that  they  come  by  chance,  but  that  it 
is  a  chance  if  ever  they  be  good.  Tee  accumulanti  non 
sjia,  Hab.  ii.  6.  And  "  AVoc  to  him  that  coveteth  an 
evil  covetousness  to  his  house,"  verse  9.  We  think  the 
oppressor's  avarice  evil  only  to  the  houses  of  the  oppressed  ; 
but  God  saitli  it  is  most  evil  to  his  own.  Whether  fraud 
or  force  bring  in  unjust  gain,  it  is  as  a  coal  of  fire  put  in 
the  thatch  of  his  house. 

And  to  shew  that  God  is  not  the  giver  of  this,  he  pours 
a  curse  ujjon  it,  that  often  they  who  thus  desire  most  wealth 
shall  not  have  it,  the  world  being  to  them  like  a  froward 
woman,  the  more  wooed  the  farther  off.  "  Woe  to  thee 
that  spoilest,  and  wast  not  spoiled ;  when  thou  shalt  cease  to 
spoil,  thou  shalt  be  spoiled,"  Isa.  xxxiii.  1.  And  "  because 
thou  hast  spoiled  many  nations,  all  the  remnant  of  the 
people  shall  spoil  thee,"  (Hab.  iL  8),  and  thou  shalt  be  for 
booty  unto  them.  Many  a  great  fish  in  the  sea  of  this 
world  devours  another,  and  instantly  comes  a  greater 
and  devours  him ;  as  that  emperor  suffered  his  officers 
to  be  like  spunies,  sucking  up  the  goods  of  the  commonalty, 
and  being  once  full,  he  squeezed  them  into  his  own  coffers 
(Sueton  in  vita  Yespas.)    Pharaoh's  lean  kine  that  de- 


200  GOD  S  BOUNTY  ;  OR, 

voured  the  fat,  were  yet  themselves  never  the  fatter  (Gen. 
xli.  21). 

Philip  was  wont  to  say  that  an  ass  laden  with  gold, 
would  enter  the  gates  of  any  city ;  but  the  golden  load  of 
bribes  and  extortions  shall  bar  a  man  out  of  the  city  of 
God.  All  that  is  so  gotten  is  hke  quicksilver,  it  will  be 
running.  If  the  father  leave  all  to  his  son,  yet  the  son 
will  leave  nothing  for  his  .son,  perhaps  nothing  for  himself; 
never  resting  till, 

Quodcumque  profunda 
Traxit  aTaritia,  luxu  pejore  refundat.— Ciaudian. 

Until  he  hath  thrown  abroad  all  with  a  fork  which  his 
father  got  together  with  a  rake.  "  The  lion  did  tear  in 
pieces  enough  for  his  whelps,  and  filled  liis  holes  with  prey 
and  his  dens  with  ravin.  But  I  will  be  against  thee,  saith 
the  Lord,  and  the  sword  shall  devour  thy  young  Uons," 
Nah.  ii.  12.  The  father  plays  the  lion  for  his  whelps,  op- 
presseth  and  consumeth  the  poor ;  but  his  young  lions 
which  he  so  provides  for  shall  be  destroyed. 

Non  habet  eventus  sordida  praeda  bonos. — Ovid.  Amor. 

(Ill  gotten  gains  never  come  to  a  good  end). 

We  have  seen  huge  hills  of  wealth,  like  mountains  of 
ice,  thus  suddenly  thawed  as  wax  with  the  heat  of  luxury. 
But  parum  justo,  "  a  little  that  the  righteous  man  hath,  is 
better  than  the  riches  of  many  ^vicked.  For  the  arms  of  the 
wicked  shall  be  broken"  (Psal.  xxxvii.  16,  17),  the  strength 
of  their  state  shall  be  confounded.  Their  wealth  is  not 
God's,  therefore  he  takes  no  charge  of  it.  But  the  riches 
of  the  good  is  the  riches  of  God,  and  he  will  prosper  it. 

2.  These  riches  are  well  disposed  or  used.  Piety,  not  lust, 
rules  them.  He  whom  God's  blessings  hath  made  rich, 
gives  God  his  part,  man  his  part,  and  keeps  the  thirds  to 
himself.    He  returns  part. 

1.  To  God.  It  is  reason  that  he  who  gives  all  should 
have  part  of  all.  And  because  thou  shouldst  not  grudge 
it,  he  challengeth  but  a  httle  part,  but  the  tenth  pai-t : 
wretched  men  that  will  not  give  him  one  who  gave  them 
ten  !    As  Pilate's  wife  sent  her  husband  word,  "  Have 


THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BOTH  HIS  HANDS. 


201 


thou  nothing  to  do  with  that  just  man"  (Matth.  xxvii,  19), 
meddle  not  with  God's  portion,  lest  a  voice  come  to  tlioc 
as  to  Abimelech,  "Thou  art  but  a  dead  man,"  Gen.  xx.  3. 
This  was  good  Jacob's  resolution,  "  Of  all  that  thou  shalt 
give  me,  I  will  surely  give  the  tenth  unto  thee,"  Gen.  xxviii. 
22.  Go  too  now  ye  that  say  the  gospel  hath  no  law  for  tithes, 
and  that  they  were  merely  ceremonial.  Jacob  paid  them 
under  nature  ;  they  are  therefore  unnatural  men  that  deny 
them.  You  can  find  no  law  commanding  your  payment, 
but  you  shall  find  a  law  condemning  your  non-pa}Tnent. 

What  can  then  be  pleaded  for  our  accui'sed  impropria- 
tions ?  Did  the  heavenly  wisdom  ever  give  you  those  riche.s  ? 
Shew  us  your  patent,  and  we  will  believe  you.  If  ever  God 
did  convey  his  own  portion  to  you,  shew  his  hand  seal  for 
it.  Where  did  ever  Jesus  pass  away  his  royal  prerogative, 
or  acknowledge  any  fine  before  a  judge,  that  you  say  hcec 
notra  sunt,  these  are  ours?  What  money  did  }-ou  ever 
pay  him  for  them  ?  Where  Is  your  acquittance  ?  Shew  your 
discharge.  Oh  but  you  plead  prescription !  K  you  were 
not  past  .shame,  you  would  never  dare  to  prescribe  against 
the  eternal  God.  Nullum  tempus  occurrit  regi:  the  King 
of  heaven  had  these  from  the  beginning,  and  will  you  now 
plead  prescription  ?  You  may  thus  undo  the  poor  minister 
in  these  terrene  courts,  but  your  plea  shall  be  damned  in 
the  courts  of  God.  We  can  produce  his  act  and  deed, 
whereby  he  separated  tenths  to  himself:  have  you  nothing 
to  shew,  and  will  you  take  away  his  inheritance?  Go  to, 
you  have  a  law,  and  by  your  own  law  this  proceeding  la 
intolerable.  You  say  you  hold  them  by  your  law ;  by  your 
law  you  shall  be  condemned. 

Perhaps  you  think  to  make  amends  for  all,  for  you  will 
increase  the  stipend  of  the  vicar.  When  the  father  hath 
gotten  thousands  by  the  sacrilegious  impropriation,  the 
son  perhaps  may  give  him  a  cow's  grass,  or  a  matter  of 
forty  shillings  per  annum,  or  bestow  a  little  whiting  on  the 
church,  and  a  wainscoat  seat  for  his  own  worship.  Yea 
more,  he  may  chance  to  found  a  little  alms-house,  and  give 
twelve  pence  a  piece  a-week  to  six  poor  people.    O  this 


202  god's  bounty  ;  on, 

oppressor  must  needs  go  to  heaven  !  AVliat  shall  hinder  him  ? 
But  it  ■will  be,  as  the  byword  is,  in  a  wlieelbarrow ;  the 
fiends,  and  not  the  angels,  will  take  hold  on  him. 

For  is  it  not  a  great  piece  of  charity  to  get  five  hundred 
pounds  a-year  from  God,  and  to  bestow  twenty  merks 
a-year  on  the  poor?  AVTien  David,  prodding  for  the 
temple's  building,  saw  how  bountifully  the  princes  and 
people  offered,  he  gave  solemn  thanks  to  God,  acknow- 
ledging that  they  had  all  received  this  first  from  him. 
"  For  all  things  come  of  thee,  and  of  thine  own  have  we 
given  thee,"  1  Chron.  xxix.  14.  The  original  is,  "of  thine 
hand."  What  here  the  left  hand  of  God  gave  to  them, 
their  right  hand  returns  to  God.  They  did  not  as  our 
church-sackers  and  ransackers  do,  rob  God  with  the  right 
hand,  and  give  him  a  little  back  with  the  left ;  take  fi-om 
him  a  pound,  and  restore  him  a  penny.  AVell,  you  would 
know  whether  God  hath  given  you  your  wealth  ;  and  he  says, 
whatsoever  you  have  gotten  by  tenths  was  none  of  liis 
giving  ;  and  besides  everlasting  malediction,  it  shall  make 
your  posterity  beggars. 

2.  The  second  rule  of  using  our  riches  well  is  (when 
God  hath  his  own,  in  the  next  place)  tribuere  cuique  suum, 
to  render  every  man  his  due.  If  they  be  God's  gifts,  they 
must  be  disposed  with  justice.  This  is  double ;  commuta- 
tive and  distributive  justice  ;  the  one  arithmetical,  the  other 
geometrical.  Arithmetical  is  to  give  every  one  alike  ;  geo- 
metrical is  to  give  ever}-  one  according  to  his  deserts. 
First,  Cum  res  adcequatur  rei:  (when  the  thing  corresponds 
to  the  thing).  Secondly,  Cum  res  adcequatur  personce  (when 
the  thing  corresponds  to  the  person).  There  are  two  rules 
for  him  that  would  be  just,  a  negative  and  an  affirmative 
rule.  First,  the  negative.  "  Do  that  to  no  man  which 
thou  would  not  have  done  to  thyself,"  Tobit  iv.  15.  Quod 
tibi  noil  vis,  alteri  ne  facias.  Secondly,  the  affirmative. 
"  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye 
even  so  to  them,"  Matth.  vii.  12.  Not  what  every  man 
out  of  his  disordered  passions  would  have  another  do  to 
him ;  but  what  La  his  composed  and  deliberate  judgment 


THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BOTH  IIIS  HANDS. 


203 


lie  approves  done  to  himself,  let  him  do  that  to  others. 
Wouldst  thou  be  relieved  ?  relieve.  Wouldst  thou  borrow  ? 
lend. 

If  I  should  follow  this  point  of  just  distribution  as  a 
mark  to  discern  of  your  riches  whether  they  are  God's 
goods  or  not,  how  distasting  would  my  speech  be  ?  How 
few  of  your  houses  ai'e  filled  with  those  treasures  only 
which  the  heavenly  wisdom  here  dispcrseth  !  How  little  of 
them  is  found  to  come  in  God's  name !  It  may  bo  some  of 
your  wealth  was  given  you  of  God,  but  your  evil  usage 
alters  the  nature  of  it,  and  it  can  no  more  properly  be 
ascribed  to  him.  It  is  hard  to  draw  this  circumstance  into 
a  square  ;  it  is  so  confused  in  your  actions,  that  I  cannot 
tell  how  to  find  a  method  for  it  in  my  discourse.  You  may 
make  your  riches  none  of  God's  blessings,  by  using  them  ill 
in  respect  of  others,  especially  three  waj's. 

{Detinendo  debita,  by  detaining  things  due  to  others. 
Extrud&ndo  villa,  by  putting  forth  base  things  for 
good. 
Corrumpendo  titilia,  by  corrupting  with  good  things 
others. 

1 .  By  detaining  those  things  that  are  due  to  others  ;  and 
these  are 


f  Debts, 
either-;  „ 

Promises. 

1.  Debts.  "  Owe  no  man  any  thing,  but  to  love  one  an- 
other," Rom.  xili.  8.  Indeed  there  must  be  some  owing, 
as  there  must  be  some  lending ;  without  this  mutual  com- 
merce we  are  worse  than  savages.  But  we  must  pay  again. 
"  The  wicked  borroweth,  and  payeth  not  again,"  Psalm 
xxxvii.  21.  Debt  is  not  deadly  sin  when  a  man  hath  no 
means,  but  when  he  hath  no  meaning  to  pay.  There  must  be 
votal  restitution  if  there  cannot  be  actual.  Restore  quoad 
affectum,  though  you  cannot  quoad  effectum,  "  For  if  there 


204 


be  first  a  -willing  mind,  it  is  accepted  according  to  that  a 
man  hath,  and  not  to  that  he  hath  not,"  2  Cor.  viii.  12. 
God  reckons  that  as  done  which  a  man  vere  voluit,  tametsi 
mil  valuit  adimplere  (Bernard) :  faithfully  would,  though  not 
fully  could  accomplish. 

There  are  those  who  will  restore  some,  but  not  all ;  to  this 
they  have  posse  but  no  velk ;  let  the  creditors  be  content 
with  one  of  four.  But  this  little  detiny  is  great  iniquity. 
For  a  mite  is  debt  as  well  as  a  million  ;  tam,  though  not 
iaiitum,  so  good  a  debt,  though  not  so  great  a  debt.  And 
"  he  that  is  faithful  in  a  little,  shall  be  made  ruler  over 
much,"  Matth.  xxv.  23. 

What  shall  we  then  say  of  their  goods  that  break  and 
defraud  others  ?  Come  they  from  God's  hand  or  from  the 
devil's  ?  Surely  Satan's  right  hand  gave  them  not  God's 
left.  HcBC  mea  sunt,  saitli  the  devil ;  mece  dicitice,  mei  divites  : 
These  are  mine,  my  riches  and  my  rich  men.  O  that  men 
would  see  this  damnable  sin !  methinks  their  terrified  con- 
sciences should  fear  that  the  bread  they  eat  would  choke 
them,  for  it  is  stolen  ;  and  stolen  bread  fills  the  belly  with 
gravel.  They  should  fear  the  drink  they  swallow  woulil 
poison  them,  being  the  very  blood  of  good  householders, 
mixed  with  the  ^tears  of  widows  and  orphans.  The  poor 
creditor  is  often  undone,  and  glad  of  bread  and  water ; 
whiles  they,  like  hogs  lurking  in  their  styes,  fat  and  lard 
their  ribs  with  the  fruit  of  other  labours.  They  rob  the 
husband  of  his  inheritance,  the  wife  of  her  dowrj-,  the  chil- 
dren of  their  portions  ;  the  curse  of  whole  families  is  against 
them. 

And  if  this  sin  lie  upon  a  great  man's  soul,  he  shall  find 
it  the  heavier  to  link  him  lower  into  perdition.  They  are 
the  lords  of  great  lands,  yet  live  upon  other  men's  money  : 
they  must  riot  and  revel,  let  the  poor  commoners  pay  for 
it.  They  have  protections :  their  bodies  shall  not  be 
molested,  and  their  lands  are  exempted.  What  then,  shall 
they  escape  ?  No,  their  souls  shall  pay  for  it.  When  the 
poor  creditor  comes  to  demand  his  own,  they  rail  at  him, 
they  send  hun  laden  away,  but  with  ill  words,  not  good 


THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BOTH  HIS  IIAKDS.  205 

money.  In  the  countiy  they  set  labourers  on  work,  but 
they  give  them  no  hire.  Tut,  they  .are  tenants,  vassals  : 
must  they  therefore  have  to  pay  ?  Yet  those  very  land- 
lords will  bate  them  nothing  of  their  rents.  But  the  riches 
so  had  are  not  of  God's  giving,  b>it  of  the  devil's  lending, 
and  he  tntII  make  them  repay  it  a  thousandfold  in  hell. 

2.  Promises  are  due  debts,  and  must  not  be  detained. 
If  the  good  man  promise,  though  -to  his  "  own  hurt,  he 
cliangeth  not"  (Psal.  xv.  4.)  Indeed  now  promuisis  dices 
quilibet  esse  potest :  Men  are  rich  in  promises,  but  they  are 
poor  in  performance.  More  respect  is  had  to  commodity 
than  to  honesty.  Men  have  their  evasions  to  disannul  their 
promises  :  either  they  equivocate  or  reserve  :  or  being  urged, 
plead  forgetfulness.  But  the  truth  is,  they  have  sufficient 
memory,  but  not  sufficient  honesty.  It  is  said  that  a  good 
name  is  the  best  riches  ;  Qua  semel  amissa,  postea  7nillis  eris  : 
(which,  being  lost,  thou  art  beggared  indeed.)  But  what 
care  they  for  a  name,  so  long  as  they  save  their  money  ? 

A  Pilate  could  say,  Quod  scripsi,  scripsi :  "  "What  I  have 
■written,  I  have  written John  xix.  1 2  ;  and  shall  not  a  Chris- 
tian say.  Quod  dixi  faciam ;  What  I  have  promised,  I  will  per- 
form ?  Hence  it  comes  that  there  is  so  little  fiuth  in  the  world  : 
that  scriveners  have  so  much  work  :  that  the  proverb  runs 
in  everj  body's  mouth,  Fast  bind,  fast  find  :  that  there  is 
no  hope  of  good  deeds,  but  sealed  and  delivered  :  that  there 
is  more  trust  to  men's  seals  than  to  their  souls  ;  for  the 
law  of  God  holds  us  not  so  fast  as  the  laws  of  men. 
There  is  more  awe  of  judgment  in  the  Common  Pleas 
than  of  a  sentence  of  condemnation  in  the  court  of  heaven. 
The  sheriff  is  altogether  feared,  not  God  :  there  is  no  dread 
of  any  execution  but  his.  Is  the  wealth  thus  detained,  in 
your  own  consciences  God's  blessing  ?  Deceive  not  your  own 
souls.  God  requires  us  to  be  in  our  words  as  righteous  in 
all  our  ways.  A  Christian's  word  should  be  as  current  as 
his  coin.  Thus  you  see  this  first  circumstance  of  injustice 
taxed.  Therefore  "withhold  not  good  from  them  to 
whom  it  is  due,  when  it  is  in  the  power  of  thy  hand  to  do 
it,"  Prov.  iii.  27. 


206 


2.  By  putting  forth  base  things  for  good.  The  prophet 
Amos  speaks  of  some  that  "  sell  the  refuse  of  their  wheat" 
(chap.  viii.  G ),  the  basest  wares  :  neither  do  they  sell  them 
for  base  but  for  good.  If  half  a  score  lies,  backed  with 
as  many  oaths,  will  put  off  their  vile  commodities,  they  shall 
not  he  upon  their  hands.  Not  upon  their  hands,  I  say  ; 
though  upon  their  consciences. 

Plenius  aequo 

Laudat  vxnales.qui  rult  extrudere  irerccs.— J^or.  I.  viii.  tp. 
(The  merchant  overpraises  the  goods  he  is  anxious  to  sell.) 

Their  rule  for  themselves  is  Vincat  utilitas  (success  to 
selfishness)  ;  for  others,  Caveat  emptor  (let  the  buyer  be- 
ware). Either  they  will  shew  you  one  thing  and  sell  you 
another — and  this  cozenage  hath  longer  arms  than  all  other 
tricks — and  overreaches  them,  or  they  will  conceal  the 
insufficiency  of  the  wares  ;  and  for  this  cause  they  darken 
their  shops,  lest  the  light  .should  reveal  their  works  of  dark- 
ness. "  They  love  darkness  more  than  light,"  John  iii.  19. 
Let  them  take  heed  lest  it  be  unto  them  according  to  their 
desires  :  lest  as  they  have  brought  hell  into  their  shops,  so 
their  shops  send  them  into  heU. 

Or  if  the  commodity  be  discerned  bad,  you  must  have 
that  or  none.  If  your  necessity  forceth  you  to  buy,  it  shall 
force  you  to  buy  such  base  stuff.  This  is  a  grievous  sin  in 
all  professions,  especially  amongst  apothecaries :  because 
with  their  injustice  may  be  also  mixed  a  spice  of  murder. 
But  you  will  say,  we  compel  none  to  buy  our  commodities  : 
we  but  shew  them,  and  make  the  price.  But  it  is  craft 
tcndere  plagas,  etsi  agitaluTTts  non  sis :  to  lay  snares,  though 
you  drive  not  men  into  them.  Or  be  it  what  it  will,  yet 
rather  than  refuse  your  money,  they  will  protest  to  give  you 
the  buj-ing.  Yea  rather  than  fail,  they  will  sell  it  you 
cheaper  than  before  they  swore  it  cost  them. 

Quis  mcttis  aut  pudor  est  properantis  avari  ?  (what  fear  or 
shame  has  he  who  burns  to  be  rich  ?)  Juv.  Sat.  14.  What, 
sell  cheaper  than  they  buy  ?  How  should  they  then  live  ? 
The  answer  is  easy ;  they  live  by  their  Ijing. 

Now,  doth  this  wealth  come  in  God's  name  ?  Is  this  the 


THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BOTH  HIS  HANDS.  207 

blessing  of  heaven  ?  Which  of  your  consciences  dare  think 
so?  Saint  Augustine  (De  Trin.  lib.  xiii.  cap.  3)  speaks  of 
ii  certain  jester  that  undertook  to  tell  the  people  what  they 
all  did  most  desire.  Multitudes  came  to  hear  this  :  to 
whose  expectation  he  thus  answered  : —  Vili  rultis  emere,  et 
chare  vendere :  You  would  buy  cheap,  and  sell  dear.  And 
this  is  every  man's  desire  that  desires  to  be  rich  more  than 
to  be  just. 

3.  By  making  others  bad  with  his  goods  ;  and  here  we 
may  fitly  proceed  to  the  condemnation  of  bribery.  "  A 
gift  blindeth  the  eyes  of  the  ivise,"  Deut.  xvi.  19.  They 
that  see  farthest  into  the  law,  and  most  clearly  discern  the 
causes  of  justice,  if  they  suffer  the  dusts  of  bribes  to  be 
throAvn  into  their  sight,  their  eyes  will  water  and  twinkle, 
and  fall  at  last  to  blind  connivance.  It  is  a  wretched  thing 
where  justice  is  made  a  hackney  that  may  be  backed  for 
money  and  put  on  with  golden  spurs,  even  to  the  desired 
journey's  end  of  injury  and  iniquity. 

If  the  party  be  innocent,  let  his  cause  be  sentenced  for 
his  innocency's  sake  :  if  guilty,  let  not  gold  buy  out  his 
punishment.  If  the  cause  be  doubtful,  the  judge  shall  see 
it  worse  when  he  hath  blinded  his  eyes  with  bribes.  But 
the  will  of  the  giver  doth  transfer  right  of  the  gift  to  the 
receiver.  No  ;  for  it  is  not  a  voluntary  will.  But  as  a  man 
is  willing  to  give  his  purse  to  the  thief,  rather  than  venture 
his  life  or  limb  :  so  the  poor  man  gives  his  bribes  rather 
than  hazard  his  cause.  Thou  sayest,  the  thief  hath  no  right 
to  the  purse  so  given  ;  God  saith,  nor  thou  to  the  bribe. 

And  this  is  sinful  in  a  justicer,  though  he  pass  true  judg- 
ment on  the  cause  ;  but  much  more  accursed,  when  for 
this  he  will  condemn  the  cause  he  should  allow,  or  allow  the 
cause  he  should  condemn.  To  justify  the  wicked,  and  con- 
demn the  innocent,  is  alike  abomination  to  the  Lord.  Far 
be  fi-om  our  souls  this  wickedness ;  that  the  ear  which 
should  be  open  to  complaints  is  thus  stopped  with  the  ear- 
wax  of  partiality.  Alas,  poor  Truth,  that  she  must  now  be 
put  to  the  charges  of  a  golden  earpick,  or  she  cannot  bo 
heai'd ! 


208  god's  bounty  ;  on,  blessings  of  both  his  hakds. 

But  to  shew  that  these  riches  are  not  of  God's  giving,  his 
anger  is  hot  against  tbeni.  "  Fire  shall  consume  the  taber- 
nacles of  bribery,"  Job  xv.  34.  The  houses  or  taber- 
nacles, the  chambers,  halls,  offices,  studies,  benches  ;  a  fire 
shall  consume  them.  Tliey  may  stand  for  a  while,  but  the 
indignation  of  the  Lord  is  kindled  ;  and  if  it  once  begin  to 
burn,  all  the  waters  in  the  south  are  not  able  to  quench  it. 
These  riches,  then,  come  not  of  God's  blessing ;  but  I  pray 
that  God's  blessing  may  be  yours,  though  you  want  those 
riches.  Time,  that  severe  moderator,  chargeth  me  silence : 
and  I  rather  choose  abruptly  to  break  off  my  discourse  than 
immodestly  to  abuse  your  tried  patience.  The  Lord  send 
us  the  gifts  of  his  left  hand  at  his  own  good  pleasure,  but 
never  deny  us  the  blessings  of  his  right,  for  Jesus  Christ's 
sake.  Amen. 


GOD'S  BOUNTY; 

THE   BLESSINGS   OF   BOTH   HIS  HANDS 

(THE  SECOMO  BTKXOr 


"  Length  of  days  is  In  her  righ  t  hand  :  and  in  her  left  hand,  riches  and  honour 

/>»».  111.  16. 


GOD'S  BOUNTY; 


OB, 

THE   BLESSINGS    OF    BOTH   HIS  HANDS. 


•*  Length  of  days  I3  in  her  rigUt  hand :  and  in  her  left  hand,  riches  and  honour."— 
Prov.  ill.  16. 


AVe  are  looking  into  the  left  hand  of  wisdom,  and  there 
have  found,  first,  That  riches  and  honour  are  God's  gifts  ; 
secondly,  That  every  man's  riches  and  honour  are  not  so, 
that  the  mouth  of  wickedness  might  be  stopped.  Therefore 
to  satisfy  our  own  consciences  that  they  are  God's  bless- 
ings to  us,  I  observed  that  they  must  be,  first,  honestly 
gotten ;  secondly,  justly  disposed,  and  that  by  rendering 
sincerely  that  which  is  due,  first,  to  God ;  secondly,  to 
man  ;  thirdly,  to  ourselves.  Duties  to  others  ended  my 
former  discourse  ;  I  must  now  begin  at 

Ourselves. 

The  third  act  of  disposing  of  our  riches  well,  when  God 
hath  his  portion  and  man  his  portion,  is  to  take  the  thirds 
to  ourselves.  It  is  God's  will  that  with  the  wealth  he  hath 
given  thee,  thou  shouldest  refresh  and  console  thyself. 
"  Thou  preparest  a  table  before  me  ;  thou  anointest  my  head 
■with  oil  ;  my  cup  runneth  over,"  Psal.  xxiii.  5.  Wherefore 


212 


G01>'s  BUUNTY  :  on, 


hath  God  spread  a  table  before  thee,  but  that  thou  shouldst 
eat  ?  Wherefore  given  thee  a  cup  running  over,  but  that  thou 
shouldst  drink  ?  K  thou  have  "  wine,  make  thy  heart  glad  ; 
if  oil,  let  thy  face  shine  ;  if  bread,  strengthen  thy  spirits," 
Psal.  civ.  15.  Wear  thine  ovm  wool,  and  drink  the  milk  of 
thine  own  flocks.  It  is  a  blessing  which  the  Lord  gives  to 
those  that  fear  him  ;  "  Thou  shalt  eat  the  labour  of  thine 
own  hands  :  happy  shalt  thou  be,  and  it  shall  be  well  with 
thee,"  Psal.  cxxviii.  2.  But  a  curse  to  the  wicked ;  that 
they  shall  plant  vineyards,  and  not  taste  the  fruit  thereof. 
The  riches  that  God  truly  gives,  man  truly  enjoys.  "  Every 
man  to  whom  God  hath  given  riches  and  wealth,  and  hath 
given  him  power  to  eat  thereof,  and  to  take  his  portion,  and 
to  rejoice  in  his  labour:  this  is  the  gift  of  God,"  Eccles.  v. 
19.  Now  a  man  may  take  from  himself  this  comfort  in 
abusing  his  wealth  ;  and  this  many  ways,  especially  four  : 


1.  By  spending  them  upon  works  of  superstition,  to  the 
dishonour  of  God.  And  this  is  a  high  degree  of  ingratitude  ; 
when  God  hath  given  them  a  sword  to  defend  themselves, 
and  they  turn  the  point  of  it  upon  his  own  breast.  So  God 
gave  Israel  sheep  and  oxen,  and  they  offer  them  up  to  Baal. 
Many  in  England  are  beholden  to  God  for  great  revenues, 
lands,  and  lordships  ;  and  they  therewith  maintain  jesuits 
and  seminaries,  his  professed  enemies.  These  use  their 
riches  as  the  Israelites  did  their  earrings  and  jewels  ;  God 
gave  them  for  their  own  ornament,  and  they  turn  them  to 
an  idol. 

2.  By  malice  ;  in  abusing  them  to  unnecessarj'  quarrrls 
and  contentions  of  law,  to  the  hinderance  of  God's  peace 
and  their  neighbours'  welfare  ;  when  men  will  put  out  one 
of  their  own  eyes  to  put  out  both  their  neighbour's  ;  nay, 
both  their  own  for  one  of  his.    Thus,  what  they  get  by  the 


Superstition, 


THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BOTH  HIS  HANDS.  213 

happiness  for  foreign  peace,  they  spend  in  civil  wars.  How 
unnatural  is  it  for  one  hand  thus  to  beat  and  wound  ano- 
ther !  Either  of  them  gets  a  shell ;  you  know  who  goes 
away  with  the  meat. 

3.  By  riot.  Quicquid  dant,  dant  vel  veneri  vel  ventri. 
They  spend  more  upon  the  tavern  than  upon  the  tabernacle 
— at  the  house  of  plays  than  at  the  house  of  praise  ;  more 
upon  their  own  hounds  than  upon  God's  poor  children. 
Julius  Cresar,  seeing  women  carry  little  dogs  under  their 
arms,  asked  if  they  had  no  children.  God  asketh  you  that 
give  your  bread  to  dogs,  if  he  hath  no  children  for  your 
charity.  But  they  answer  all,  as  the  -nncked  in  the  1 2th 
Psalm,  "  Our  tongues  are  our  own,"  Psal.  xii.  4.  They  stop 
the  mouth  of  all  exhortation  to  frugal  courses  with,  It  is 
my  own  ;  a  man  may  spend  his  own  as  he  Hst.  I  waste 
none  of  your  goods  ;  and  what  hath  friend  in  private  or 
preacher  in  public  to  do  vfith  it  ?  But  they  shall  find  one 
day  that  they  were  but  stewards — that  these  riches  were 
but  intrusted  to  them,  and  they  shall  give  a  strict  account. 
Nothing  is  properly  a  man's  own,  but  peccata  sua,  his  sins. 
Thy  sins  are  thine  own  ;  thy  riches,  God's. 

4.  By  miserable  niggardliness,  in  forbearing  to  take  his  own 
portion  ;  and  so  becometh  his  own  consumption.  No  marvel 
if  such  a  miser  starve  others,  when  he  famisheth  himself. 
Such  a  one  is  the  worst  vermin  the  land  bears.  Another 
vermin  seeks  but  to  feed  itself;  but  he,  hoarding  up  his 
grain,  feeds  many  thousands  of  them.  Let  him  beware  lest 
they  also  at  last  devour  himself;  as  that  German  bishop, 
that,  having  great  store  of  corn  in  a  grievous  famine,  refused 
to  sell  it  to  the  poor,  and  suffered  the  rats  to  eat  it ;  but,  by 
the  just  judgment  of  God,  the  mice  and  rats  which  he  fed 
with  his  grain  did  also  feed  upon  him,  albeit  he  built  a 
tower  in  the  midst  of  the  river  Rhine  to  avoid  them  ;  which 
the  Germans  call  still  "  Rats'  Tower"  (Act.  et  Mon.  p. 
185.)  How  shall  they  which  slander  heaven  with  pretended 
dearths,  be  admitted  as  friends  to  that'  place  which  they 
have  behed  ? 

You  see  how  these  riches  must  be  gotten — how  disposed  ; 


214  god's  bounty:  or, 

honestly  gotten — justly  dispensed.   Now  it  follows  also  in 

the  next  place  that  they  must  be 

3.  Patiently  lost.  When  God  gives  riches  to  the  good, 
he  gives  them  also  a  heart  to  trust  in  himself:  in  himself,  I 
say,  not  in  them.  "  Trust  not  in  uncertain  riches,  but  in 
the  hving  God,  who  giveth  us  abundantly  all  things  to  en- 
joy," 1  Tim.  vi.  17.  He  gives  abundantly,  but  he  forbiddeth 
trust  in  that  abundance.  He  commends  riches  to  us,  as  a 
great  man  doth  a  servant  to  his  friend  ;  work  him,  but  trust 
him  not  ;  put  labour  to  him,  not  confidence  in  him.  Wealth 
may  do  us  good  service ;  but  if  it  get  the  mastery  of  our 
trust,  it  will  turn  tyrant,  termagant ;  we  condemn  ourselves 
to  our  own  galleys. 

To  the  godly,  riches  are  never  so  dear  but  they  can  be 
content  to  forego  them.  They  receive  them  at  God's  hands 
with  much  thankfulness,  and  they  lose  them  with  much 
patience.  When  God  takes  aught  from  us,  he  does  us  no 
wrong.  Relrahit  sua,  non  abstrahit  nostra :  he  doth  but  take 
back  his  own,  not  take  away  ours  (Greg,  in  Mor).  So 
Job  :  "  The  Lord  hath  given,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken 
away,"  Job  i.  21.  The  Lord  giveth,  therefore  he  may  take 
away.  Yea,  Faith  says.  Lord,  take  all,  so  thou  give  me 
thyself.  "  We  have  left  all,  and  followed  thee,"  saith  Peter, 
Matth.  xix.  27.  Nos  sequamur  Christmn,  catera  sequentur 
nos  :  Let  us  follow  Christ,  other  things  shall  follow  us.  But 
if  they  do  not,  it  is  gain  enough  to  have  Christ.  He  is  too 
covetous  whom  the  Lord  Jesus  cannot  satisfy.  We  may  lose 
divitias  Dei,  but  never  Deum  divitiarim.  AVe  may  be  for- 
saken of  these  riches  of  God,  but  never  of  the  God  of  riches. 
Amittamus  omnia,  dum  haheamus  habentem  omnia  :  Let  us  lose 
all,  so  we  have  him  that  hath  all. 

That  was  never  perfectly  good  that  might  be  lost.  Of 
this  nature  are  riches ;  they  have  made  many  prouder  — 
none  better.  As  never  man  was  better,  so  never  wise  man 
thought  himself  better  for  them.  That  wise  prophet  would 
never  have  prayed  against  riches,  if  their  want  had  been  the 
want  of  blessedness.  The  devil  indeed  says,  "All  these 
will  I  give  thee ;"  but  the  two  dearest  apostles  say,  "  Silver 


THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BOTH  HIS  HANDS.  215 


and  gold  have  I  none."  AVho  would  not  rather  be  in  the 
state  of  those  saints  than  of  that  devil  ?  Riches  are  such 
things  as  those  that  have  them  not  want  them  not ;  those 
that  have  them  may  want  them  :  they  are  lost  in  a  night, 
and  a  man  is  never  the  worse  for  losing  them.  How  many 
kings  (not  fewer  than  nine  in  our  island)  that  have  begun 
their  glory  in  a  throne,  have  ended  it  in  a  cell ;  changing 
their  command  of  a  sceptre  for  the  contemplation  of  a  book  ! 
Alas,  silly  things  !  that  they  should  dare  ask  one  drachm  of 
our  confidence.  Non  tanta  in  muUL^  fcelicitas,  quanta  in  paucis 
securilas.  Thei-e  is  not  so  much  happiness  in  the  highest 
estate,  as  there  is  content  and  peace  in  the  lowest.  Only 
then  God  be  our  trust,  whose  mercy  we  can  no  more  lose 
than  himself  can  lose  his  mercy. 

Thus  you  see  this  second  general  point  amplified.  If 
riches  be  God's  blessings  (not  only  in  themselves — so,  they 
are  always  good — but  to  us),  then  they  are  gotten  honestly, 
disposed  justly,  lost  patiently.  As  much,  happily,  might  be 
said  for  honour ;  wherein  I  vnll  briefly  consider  how  and 
when  it  is  of  God. 

God  indeed  gives  honour  and  riches,  but  not  all  honour ; 
as  you  heard  before,  not  all  riches.  There  are  four  things 
in  an  honoured  person.  First,  His  person  ;  wherein  he  par- 
takes of  the  common  condition  of  mankind — lives  and  dies  a 
man.  Even  the  sons  of  princes  have  their  breath  in  their 
nostrils.  Secondly,  His  honour  and  dignity.  This,  simply 
considered,  is  of  God,  whosoever  he  be  that  hath  it — a 
Joseph  or  a  Haman.  Thirdly,  The  manner  of  coming  to  his 
honour ;  and  this  is  no  longer  of  God  than  the  means  are 
good.  If  it  be  God's  honour,  God  must  give  it,  not  man 
usurp  it.  Fourthly,  The  managing  of  this  honour  ;  and  this 
is  also  of  the  Lord,  if  it  be  right  and  religious.  It  happeneth 
often  that  poteyis,  the  great  man  is  not  of  God.  "  They 
have  set  up  kmgs,  but  not  by  me  ;  they  have  made  princes, 
and  I  knew  it  not,"  Hos.  viii.  4.  The  manner  of  getting 
dignity  is  not  always  of  God.  Richard  HI.  came  to  the 
crown  of  England  by  blood  and  murder.  Alexander  VI. 
obtained  the  popedom  by  giving  himself  to  the  devil ;  yet 


216  god's  bounty;  or, 

the  dignity  is  of  God.  "  By  me  kings  reign ;  by  me  princes 

and  nobles,"  Prov.  viii.  15,  16. 

It  is  a  hard  question,  wherein  honour  consists.  Is  it  in 
blood,  descending  from  the  veins  of  noble  ancestors?  not 
so,  except  nature  could  produce  to  noble  parents  noble 
children.  It  was  a  monstrous  tale  that  Nicippus'  ewe 
should  yean  a  lion.  Though  it  be  true  among  irrational 
creatures  that  they  ever  bring  forth  their  like ;  eagles 
hatch  eagles,  and  doves  doves  ;  yet  in  man's  progeny  there  is 
often  found  not  so  like  a  proportion  as  unlike  a  disposition. 
The  earthy  part  only  follows  the  seed,  not  that  whose  form 
and  attending  qualities  are  from  above.  Honour  must 
therefore  as  well  plead  a  charter  of  successive  virtue  as  of 
continued  scutcheons,  or  it  cannot  consist  in  blood.  The 
best  things  can  never  be  traduced  in  propagation;  thou 
mayest  leave  thy  son  heir  to  thy  lands  in  thy  will,  to  thy 
honour  in  his  blood ;  thou  canst  never  bequeath  him  thy 
virtues.  The  best  qualities  do  so  cleave  to  their  subjects, 
that  they  disdain  communication  to  others. 

That  is  then  only  true  honour  where  dignity  and  desert, 
blood  and  virtue,  meet  together ;  the  greatness  whereof  is 
fi-om  blood,  the  goodness  from  virtue.  Among  fools  dig- 
nity is  enough  without  desert ;  among  wise  men  desert  with- 
out dignity.  If  they  must  be  separated,  desert  is  infinitely 
better.  Greatness  without  virtue,  laudatur  ore  alieno,  dam- 
natur  conscientia  sua,  is  commended  by  others'  tongues,  con- 
demned in  thine  own  heart.  Virtue,  though  without  promo- 
tion, is  more  comforted  in  thine  own  content,  than  disheart- 
ened by  others'  contempt.  It  is  a  happy  composition  when 
they  are  united  ;  think  it  your  honour,  ye  gi  eat  men,  that 
you  are  ennobled  with  virtues  ;  not  that  you  have,  but  that 
you  desire  honour.  Let  this  that  hath  been  spoken  teach 
us  some  lessons  concerning  honour. 

1.  Take  it  when  God  sends  it,  but  be  not  ambitious  of  it. 
Indigni  est  arripere,  non  accipere  honorem :  It  is  an  argument 
of  imworthiness  to  snatch  it  denied,  not  to  accept  it  ofiered. 
"  God  resisteth  the  proud"  (1  Pet.  v.  5),  opposeth  himself 
in  a  professed  war  against  him,  as  if  he  held  a  sword 


THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BOTH  HIS  HANDS.  217 

against  his  breast,  when  he  would  rise  up  in  glory  to  nail 
him  fiist  down  to  the  earth.  But  he  giveth  grace  to  the 
humble  ;  like  a  gi-eat  and  good  prince  he  gives  those  ser- 
vants gi-ace  and  honour  whom  he  perceives  least  ambitious 
of  it.  Such  men  seek  not  for  honour,  as  for  a  jewel  they 
would  fain  find,  but  only  stumble  at  it,  as  Saul  sought  but 
his  father's  asses,  when  he  lighted  on  a  kingdom.  Pride, 
like  smoke,  will  surge  upward,  though  it  vanish  into  air ; 
massy  virtue,  like  gold,  keeps  below,  and  is  more  preciously 
respected. 

He  that  would  mount,  cares  not  what  attendance  he 
dances  at  all  hours,  upon  whose  stairs  he  sits  waiting,  what 
enormities  he  soothes,  what  deformities  he  imitates,  what 
base  offices  he  docs  prostrate  himself  to,  so  he  may  rise. 
His  cai-riage  is  alienum  a  sc,  quite  another  thing  from  him- 
self ;  he  doth  glue  it  on  indecently,  that  he  may  screw  him- 
self into  favour.  This  man  never  understood  the  charge 
that  goes  with  honour  ;  which  the  most  wise  disposition  of 
God  hath  coupled  together.  Charge  without  some  honour 
would  overlay  a  man.  If  a  man  could  have  honour  with- 
out some  trouble,  it  would  so  transport  him,  that  he  were 
continually  in  danger  of  running  mad.  The  poor  man 
envies  the  great  for  his  honour ;  the  great  perhaps  envies 
the  poor  more  for  his  peace  :  for  as  he  lives  obscurely,  so  se- 
curely. He  that  rightly  knows  the  many  public  and  more 
secret  vexations  incident  to  honour,  would  not  (as  that  king 
said  of  his  crown)  stoop  to  take  it  up,  though  it  lay  at  his 
feet  before  him. 

2.  Live  worthy  of  that  honour  thou  hast.  Greatness 
not  hallowed  with  grace  is  like  a  beacon  upon  a  high  hill. 
Qui  conspiciunt,  dispiciunt:  they  that  behold  it  hate  it, 
though  perhaps  they  dare  not  censure  it.  The  knee  may 
be  forced  to  reverence,  but  the  mind  cannot  but  abhor  so 
imworthy  a  statue.  In  his  pride  he  stomachs  the  covered 
head,  or  the  stiff  knee  of  a  good  Mordecai,  fretting  tbat 
other  men  do  not  thmk  hhn  so  good  as  he  thhiks  himsell'. 
But  indeed  he  doth  not  think  himself  more  honourable  thiu 
others  think  him  base.    All  the  poor  honour  that  ho  l-.ath. 


218  god's  BOUNTi- ;  or, 

is  only  kept  above  ground  with  his  bodj- ;  both  corrupt,  fall, 
and  rot  together ;  and  if  it  be  conjured  up  at  the  funeral  to 
present  itself,  yet  it  fails  not  to  go  back  with  the  heralds. 

3.  Forget  not  your  original,  ye  whose  brows  the  wreaths 
of  honour  have  (above  hopes)  engirt.  If  the  Lord  hath 
"  raised  you  out  of  the  dust,  and  lifted  you  up  out  of  the 
dunghill,  and  set  you  among  the  princes  of  the  people 
(Psal.  cxiii.  7,  8) ;  yet  forget  not  your  Father's  house,  nor 
the  place  of  your  beginning.  Miseranda  ohlii  io  orifjinis  non 
minisse :  He  never  truly  understands  what  he  is,  that  for- 
gets what  he  hath  been.  Solomon's  observation  is  often 
true  :  "  Folly  is  set  in  great  dignity,"  Eccles.  x.  6.  Albeit 
this  be  not  the  right  ubi ;  folly  in  excellency.  Now  these 
excellent  fools  soon  forget  from  how  low  estate  they  are 
risen.  They  consider  not  how  glad  their  carcases  would 
once  have  been  of  a  warm  covering,  that  are  now  richer 
than  lilies,  more  gorgeous  than  May ;  scarce  "  Solomon  in 
all  his  glory  was  arrayed  like  one  of  these,"  Matth.  vi.  29. 
They  consider  not  that  need  once  made  them  trudge 
through  the  mire  even  many  tedious  journeys,  that  climb 
by  unjust  riches  to  that  dignity,  as  in  their  carriages,  to  be 
whirled  through  the  popular  streets. 

It  was  Jacob's  humble  acknowledgment  of  God's  mercy 
to  him :  "  With  my  staff  I  passed  over  this  Jordan,  and 
now  I  am  become  two  hands,"  Gen.  xxxii.  10.  If  blind 
ingratitude  would  suffer  many  proud  eyes  to  see  it,  how 
justly  might  divers  say :  With  my  staff  came  I  hither 
walking,  and  now  I  ride  in  triumph  with  attendants.  To 
these  let  me  apply  the  words  of  the  prophet :  "  Look  unto 
the  rock  whence  ye  are  hewn,  and  to  the  hole  of  the  pit 
whence  ye  are  digged,"  Isa.  h.  1 .  Remember  your  poor 
beginning,  that  you  may  bless  God  for  your  advancing. 
Say  not  only  in  general,  Quis  homo?  "  What  is  man  that 
thou,  O  Lord,  art  so  mindful  of  him?"  (Psal.  viii.  4),  but 
Quis  ego  ?  "  What  am  I,  and  what  is  my  father's  house, 
that  God  should  thus  raise  me  up?"  1  Sara.  ix.  21. 

4.  J£  thou  have  honour,  keep  it,  but  trust  it  not.  Nothing 
is  more  inconstant ;  for  it  depends  upon  inconstancy  itself, 


THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BOTH  HIS  HANDS.  219 

the  vulgar  breath,  which  is  hellua  multorum  capitum :  a 
beast  of  many  heads,  and  as  many  tongues,  which  never 
keep  long  in  one  tune.  As  they  never  agree  one  with  ano- 
ther, so  seldom  do  they  agree  with  themselves.  Paul  and 
Barnabas  come  to  Lystra  (Acts  xiv.  6),  and  raise  an  im- 
potent cripple.  Hereat  the  amazed  people  would  needs 
make  them  gods,  and  draw  bulls  and  garlands  to  the  altars 
for  sacrifice  to  them.  Not  long  after,  they  drew  Paul  out 
of  the  city,  and  stoned  him.  They  suddenly  turned  him  from 
a  god  to  a  malefactor  ;  and  are  ready  to  Idll  him,  instead  of 
sacrificing  to  him.  O  the  fickleness  of  that  thing  which 
is  committed  to  the  keeping  of  vulgar  hands  !  Trust  not 
then  popularity  with  thy  honour,  so  it  is  mutable  ;  but  trust 
virtue  with  it,  so  it  is  durable.  Nothing  can  make  sure  a 
good  memory  but  a  good  life.  It  is  a  foolish  dream  to  hope 
for  immortality  and  a  long-lasting  name,  by  a  monument 
of  brass  or  stone.  It  is  not  dead  stones,  but  living  men, 
that  can  redeem  thy  good  remembrance  from  obhvion.  A 
sumptuous  tomb  covers  thy  putrefied  carcase  ;  and  be  thy 
life  never  so  lewd,  a  commending  epitaph  shadows  all :  but 
the  passenger  that  knew  thee  tells  his  friends  that  these 
outsides  are  hypocritical,  for  thy  life  was  as  rotten  as  thy 
corpse  ;  and  so  is  occasioned  by  thy  presumed  glory,  to  lay 
open  thy  deserved  infamy.  Neither  can  the  common  people 
preserve  thy  honour  whilst  thou  livest,  nor  can  these  dull 
and  senseless  monuments  keep  it  when  thou  art  dead.  Only 
thy  noble  and  Christian  life  makes  every  man's  heart  thy 
tomb,  and  turns  every  tongue  into  a  pen  to  write  thy  death- 
less epitaph. 

5.  Lastly.  If  God  gives  to  some  men  honour,  it  is  then 
manifest  that  God  allows  difference  of  persons.  He  ordains 
some  to  rule,  and  others  to  obey  ;  some  masters,  others  ser- 
vants :  he  setteth  some  up  on  high,  and  placeth  others  in 
a  low  degree.  To  repine  at  others'  greatness  and  our  own 
meanness,  is  to  cavil  with  God  ;  as  if  he  wanted  wisdom  and 
equity  in  disposing  these  inferior  conditions.  It  is  a  savage 
and  popular  humour  to  niahgn  and  inveigh  against  men  in 
eminent  places.    That  rhyme,  "  When  Adam  delved  and 


220  god's  bounty  ;  or, 

Eve  span,  who  was  then  a  gentlemam  ?"  seems  to  be 
made  among  Jack  Straw's  followers,  and  to  savour  of  re- 
bellious discontent.  God  allows  no  man  to  vilify  where  he 
hath  honoured ;  no  scurrilous  libels  disgracing  those  that 
live,  yea,  disparaging  the  very  dead,  shall  pass  the  court  of 
God's  justice  unccnsured.  Where  the  Lord  confers  and 
confirms  honour,  woe  to  the  tongue  that  shall  traduce  it. 
This  second  point  hath  held  us  long,  the  brevity  of  the  rest 
shall  ease  it. 

3.  Observe  that  Solomon,  in  the  donation  of  the  left 
liand,  couples  together  riches  and  honour  ;  as  if  these  two 
were  for  the  most  part  inseparable  companions ;  "  God 
gives  to  a  man  riches  and  honour,"  Eccles.  vi.  2.  First 
riches  and  then  honour,  for  it  is  lightly  found ;  so  much 
riches,  so  much  honour  ;  and  reputation  is  measured  by  the 
acre.  I  have  wealth  enough,  saith  the  worldling ;  I  will  turn 
gentleman,  take  my  "  ease,  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry,"  Luke 
xii.  45.  Riches  are  the  stairs  whereby  men  climb  up  into 
the  height  of  dignity  ;  the  fortification  that  defends  it  ;  the 
food  it  lives  upon  ;  the  oil  that  keeps  the  lamp  of  honour 
from  going  out.  Honour  is  a  bare  robe,  if  riches  do  not 
lace  and  flourish  it ;  and  riches  a  dull  lump,  tOl  honour  give 
a  soul  to  quicken  it.  Fitly,  then,  honour  and  riches,  wealth 
and  worship,  do  bear  one  another  company. 

4.  Lasthj.  Observe  that  though  riches  and  honour  be 
God's  gifts,  yet  they  are  but  the  gifts  of  his  left  hand ; 
therefore  it  necessarily  follows,  that  every  wise  man  will  first 
seek  the  blessings  of  the  right.  "  First  seek  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  his  righteousness,  and  these  things  shall  be 
added  to  you,"  Matth.  vi.  33.  Godliness  is  the  best  riches 
— riches  the  worst :  let  us  strive  for  the  former  without 
condition  ;  for  the  other,  if  they  fall  in  our  way,  let  us  stoop 
to  take  them  up — if  not,  let  us  never  covet  them.  It  is  no 
vrisdom  to  refuse  God's  kindness,  that  offers  wealth  ;  nor 
piety  to  scratch  for  it  when  God  withholds  it.  "When  the 
Lord  hath  set  thee  up  as  high  as  Haman  in  the  court  of  Aha- 
sucrus,  or  promoted  thee  to  ride  with  Joseph  in  the  second 
chariot  of  Egypt ;  were  thy  flock  of  cattle  exceeding  Job's 


THE  BLESSINGS  OF  BOTH  HIS  HANDS. 


221 


"  seven  thousand  sheep,  three  thousand  camels,  five  hundred 
yoke  of  oxen,"  Job  i.  3  ;  did  thy  wardrobe  put  do^vn  Solo- 
mon's, and  thy  cupboard  of  plate  Belsliazzar's  when  the 
vessels  of  God's  temple  were  the  ornature  ;  yet  all  these  are 
but  the  gifts  of  Wisdom's  left  hand,  and  the  possessors  may 
be  under  the  malediction  of  God,  and  go  down  to  damna- 
tion. If  it  were  true  that  sanctior  qui  dltior,  that  goods 
could  make  a  man  good,  I  would  not  blame  men's  Idssing 
this  left  hand,  and  sucking  out  riches  and  honour.  But, 
alas  !  what  antidote  against  the  terror  of  conscience  can  be 
chimed  from  gold  ?  What  charm  is  there  in  brave  apparel 
to  keep  off  the  rigour  of  Satan?  Quod  lihi  prcestat  opes,  non 
tihi  prcestat  opem  :  That  which  makes  thee  wealthy  cannot 
make  thee  happy. 

Jonah  had  a  gourd  that  was  to  him  an  arbour.  lie  sat 
under  it  secure  ;  but  suddenly  there  was  a  worm  that  bit  it 
and  it  died.  Compare  (secretly  in  your  hearts)  your  riches 
to  that  gourd  ;  your  pleasure  to  the  greenness  of  it  ;  your 
pomp,  attendance,  vanities,  to  the  leaves  of  it ;  your  sudden 
increase  of  wealth,  to  the  growing  and  shooting  up  of  it. 
But  withal  forget  not  the  wonn  and  the  wind  ;  the  worm 
that  shall  kill  your  root  is  death,  and  the  wind  that  shall 
blow  upon  you  is  calamity.  There  is  a  greater  defect  in 
this  wealth  and  worship  than  their  uncertainty.  Non  modo 
fallacia  quia  duhia,  verum  insidiosa  quia  dulcia  :  They  are 
not  only  deceitful  through  their  ticklcness,  but  dangerous 
through  their  lusciousness.  Men  arc  apt  to  surfeit  on  this 
luxuriant  abundance  ;  it  is  a  bait  to  security,  a  bawd  to 
wantonness. 

Here  is  the  main  difference  between  the  gifts  of  God's 
right  hand  and  of  his  left.  He  gives  real  blessings  with  the 
left,  but  he  does  not  settle  them  upon  us  :  he  promiseth  no 
perpetuity :  but  with  the  graces  of  his  right  he  gives  assur- 
ance of  everlastingness.  Christ  calls  riches  the  "  riches  of 
deceitfulness  "  (Matth.  xiii.  22)  ;  but  grace  "the  better  part 
that  shall  never  be  taken  away,"  Luke  x.  42.  David  com- 
pares the  wealthy  to  a  flourishing  tree  that  is  soon  wither- 


222  god's  bounty  ;  or, 

ed  ;  but  faith  establisheth  a  man  like  "  Mount  Sion,  never 
to  be  removed,"  Psal.  cxxv.  1.  He  that  thinks  he  sits 
surest  in  his  seat  of  riches,  "  let  him  take  heed  lest  he 
fall."  AATien  a  great  man  boasted  of  his  abundance  (saith 
Paulus  Eniilius),  one  of  his  friends  told  him  that  the  anger 
of  God  could  not  long  forbear  so  great  prosperity.  How 
many  rich  merchants  have  suddenly  lost  all !  How  many 
noblemen  sold  all !  How  many  wealthy  heirs  spent  all  ! 
Few  Sundays  pass  over  our  heads  without  collections  for 
shipwrecks,  fires,  and  other  casualties,  demonstrative 
proofs  that  prosperity  is  inconstant,  riches  casual.  And  for 
honour,  we  read  that  Belisarius,  an  honourable  peer  of  the 
empire,  was  forced  in  his  old  age  to  beg  from  door  to  door. 
Obulum  (late  Bdisario :  (Give  a  mite  to  Belisarius).  Frede- 
rick, a  great  emperor,  was  so  low  brought  that  he  sued  to 
be  made  but  the  sexton  of  a  church. 

O  then  let  us  not  adhere  to  these  left  hand  blessings,  but 
first  seek  "  length  of  days,"  eternal  joys  never  to  be  lost. 
A  man  may  enjoy  the  other  without  fault :  the  sin  consLsteth 
jnceferendo  vel  conferendo  ;  either  in  preferring  riches,  or  in 
comparing  them  with  faith  and  a  good  conscience.  Utere 
caducis,  fruere  CBternis:  Thou  must  necessarily  use  these 
transient  things,  only  enjoy  and  rest  upon  the  everlasting 
comforts  of  Jesus  Christ.  "\Vhen  God  hath  assured  to  a 
Christian  spirit  the  inheritance  of  heaven,  he  joyfully  pilgrims 
it  through  this  world  :  if  wealth  and  worship  salute  him  by 
the  way,  he  refuseth  not  their  company  ;  but  they  shall  not 
stray  him  out  of  his  path,  nor  transport  his  affections,  for  his 
heart  is  where  his  hope  is,  his  love  is  where  his  Lord  is  ; 
even  with  Jesus  his  Redeemer  at  the  right  hand  of  God. 
ISTow  this  man's  very  riches  are  blessed  to  him  ;  for  as  from 
the  hand  of  God  he  hath  them,  so  "  fi-om  the  hand  of  God 
he  hath  to  enjoy  good  in  them,"  Eccl.  ii.  24.  Whereas  to 
some,  saith  Solomon,  "  I  have  seen  riches  kept  for  the 
owners  thereof  to  their  hurt  "  (Eccl.  v.  13) ;  to  the  good 
man  they  shall  work  to  the  best  (Rom.  viii.  28)  ;  blessing 
his  condition  in  this  life,  and  enlarging  his  condition  in 


THE  BLESSIXGS  OF  BOTH  HIS  HAXDS.  223 

heaven  ;  as  the  wise  man  sweetly,  "  The  blessing  of  the 
Lord,  it  niaketh  rich,  and  he  addcth  no  sorrow  with  it," 
Prov.  X.  22. 

Thus  in  particular  :  if  we  confer  the  right  Iiand  with  the 
left,  we  shall  generall}'  learn, 

1.  That  both  God's  hands  are  giving:  it  is  enough  if 
man  give  with  one  hand  ;  but  the  Lord  sets  both  his  hands 
a-doling  his  alms  of  mercy-  A'e??io  tuanim  imam  vincetutra- 
qne  manu  :  No  man  can  do  so  much  with  both  hands  as 
God  with  one  hand,  with  one  finger.  He  hath  manum 
plciiam,  extensam,  expansam :  a  hand  full,  not  empty — so  full 
that  it  can  never  be  emptied  with  giving.  Innumerable  are 
the  drops  in  the  sea,  yet  if  one  be  taken  out,  it  hath 
(though  insensibly)  so  much  the  less  :  but  God's  goodness 
can  suffer  no  diminution,  for  it  is  infinite.  !RIen  are  sparing 
in  their  bounty,  because  the  more  they  give  the  less  they 
have  ;  but  God's  hand  is  ever  full,  though  it  ever  disperse  : 
and  the  filling  of  many  cisterns  is  no  abatement  to  his  ever- 
running  fountain.  Our  prayers,  therefore,  are  well  directed 
thither  for  blessings ;  whence  though  we  receive  never  so 
much,  we  leave  no  less  behind.  Let  this  master  of  requests 
in  heaven  have  all  our  suits  :  we  are  sure  either  to  receive 
what  we  ask,  or  what  we  should  ask. 

It  is  externa:  a  hand  put  forth,  and  stretched  out. 
"  Stretched  out,  not  to  receive  but  to  give."  The  pro- 
phet speaks  of  rulers  that  stretch  out  their  hands  for 
bi-ibes,  and  cry,  "  Give  ye  "  (Hos.  iv.  18)  ;  but  the  Lord's 
hand  is  put  forth  to  offer  good  things.  "  All  day  long  have 
T  stretched  forth  my  hands  to  a  disobedient  people,"  Rom. 
X.  21.  Indeed  God  hath  a  hand  ;  and  woe  to  the  man 
against  whom  it  is  stretched.  Homer  saith  that  all  the 
gods  could  not  ward  a  blow  of  Jupiter's  hand.  His  hands 
are  not  only  hands  that  cannot  be  sufficiently  praised  ; 
but  hands  that  cannot  be  resisted.  It  is  a  heavy  hand 
when  it  lights  upon  men  in  anger.  "  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God."  When  revolting  Is- 
rael fell  to  serve  Baal  and  Ashtaroth,  "  whithersoever  they 
went  out,  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  against  them  for  evil," 


224  G0I>'S  BOUNTY  :  OR, 

Judg.  ii.  15.  When  the  men  of  Ashdod  were  smitten  with 
emerods,  it  is  said  "  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  heavj'  upon 
them,"  1  Sam.  v.  6.  So  David  in  his  grievous  miserj-  : 
"  Thine  arrows  stick  fast  in  me,  and  thy  hand  presseth  me 
sore,"  Psal.  xxxviii.  2.  It  is  not  this  hand  that  God  here 
stretcheth  out.  Bernard  saith  God  hath  two  hands  ;  ford- 
tudo  and  latiludo :  A  hand  of  strength,  qua  defendit  potenter, 
wherewith  he  protects  his  friends  and  confounds  his  enemies. 
A  hand  of  bounty,  qua  trihuit  affiuenler,  whereby  he  dis- 
perseth  and  disposeth  the  largest  of  his  gifts.  (SeT.  \uu.  in 
Cant.)  This  is  the  hand  here  put  forth,  manus  regalLi, 
and  gives  munus  regale  :  a  royal  hand,  full  of  real  mercies. 
Let  us  humbly  kiss  it. 

It  is  expansa  ;  not  a  shut  hand,  but  open.  "  Thou  openest 
thy  hand  and  fillest  all  things  lining  with  plenteousness," 
Psal.  cxlv.  16.  "  God  gives  richly,"  saith  Paul,  1  Tim.  vi. 
18.  Man  is  poor,  because  he  is  a  creature.  The  very 
name  of  creature  infers  poverty.  It  implies  a  receiving  of 
all.  Quid  hahes  quod  non  accepisti  ?  The  Creator  hath  the 
possession  of  all,  and  the  disposition  of  all,  at  his  own  plea- 
sure. "  Every  good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift  is  from 
above,  and  cometh  down  from  the  Father  of  hghts, "  Jam. 
i.  17.  Bread,  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  is  called  ours  :  Give 
us  this  day  our  daily  bread  ;"  but  ne  putetur  a  nobis,  dicimus 
da  nobis  (Aug.  Epist.  143).  Lest  we  should  imagine  it  our 
own  from  ourselves,  we  are  taught  daily  to  beg  it  of  our  Fa- 
ther in  heaven,  whose  it  is.  It  is  the  Lord's  hand  that  bar- 
reth  the  gates  of  our  cities,  "  that  filleth  our  gamers  vrith 
plenty,"  Psal.  cxliv.  13  ;  that  sets  peace  about  our  walls, 
and  prosperity  in  our  palaces  ;  that  blesseth  her  goings  out, 
and  comings  in ;  even  aU  the  works  of  our  hands. 

But  what  speak  I  of  temporal  things,  the  gifts  of  his  left 
hand,  in  comparison  of  length  of  days,  everlasting  joys,  the 
treasures  of  his  right  ?  Repentance,  humility,  charity,  and 
the  lady  of  all  graces.  Faith,  come  from  his  hand,  and  are 
the  fair  gifts  of  God.  Jpsum  velle  credere,  Dens  operatur  in 
homine  (Aug.  de  spiritu  et  liter,  &c.  cap.  34).  The  first  will 
to  believe  is  wrought  in  man  by  God.    If  any  ask.  Cur  illi 


nLESSINGS  OF  BOTH  HIS  HANDS.  225 

ita  suadealur,  vt  persmdeatur ;  ilU  aulem  vmi  itii?  AVliy  dulh 
tliis  ni:in  bi'Iicvc,  and  another  remain  in  inlidelity  V  I  lie 
di;il!ns  Ihi:  Mie  lianil  of  God  hath  been  here,  working  iaali 
in  Ihc  soul  of  him  that  belicveth.  All  comes  from  this  hand 
of  mercy.  (^iiisi/uis  tUii  enumerat  mcrila  sua,  quid  tibi  oiu- 
viu-at  inuiicra  tiia  ?  (Aug.  Confess,  lib.  i.x.  cap.  13).  lie 
tlnit  reckons  to  God  his  merits,  what  doth  he  reckon  but 
God's  mercies  ?  Qua'  bo  na  mea,  dona  tua :  those  that  are 
iny  goods,  as  God's  gifts. 

2.  Though  hands  be  here  attributed  to  God,  yet  ,it  is  l)ut 
by  way  of  metaphor, — not  literally  and  in  a  true  propriety 
of  speech.  To  conceive  God  to  be  as  man  with  human  di- 
mensions, was  the  heresy  of  the  Anthropomorphites  ;  and 
he  tiiat  thus  grossly  thinks  of  God,  saitli  Jerome,  makes  an 
idol  of  God  in  his  heart.  But  herein  God  stoops  to  the 
quality  of  our  understandings,  ascribing  to  himself  anger 
and  displeasure,  as  it  were  passions  to  the  impassible  ; 
whereas  nec  Dcus  affcctu  capitur,  nec  tanrjitur  ira :  they  are 
not  passions,  but  perfections.  God  hath  a  mouth,  by  which 
he  teacheth  man  wisdom  ;  he  bath  feet,  by  which  he  walketh 
on  the  earth,  his  footstool  ;  he  hath  hands,  by  which  lie 
giveth  food  to  nil  flesh  ;  he  hath  none  of  these  organically 
as  men  have  ;  but  in  the  variety  of  effects  which  he  pro- 
duceth.  So  Bernard  (Serm.  4  in  Cant.)  :  Per  effect  urn  htxc 
habet,  non  per  naturam:  (these  he  has  eifectivelv,  not  natu- 
rally.) 

3.  Observe  that  in  the  left  hand  there  is  a  double  benefit, 
riches  and  honour  ;  in  the  right  but  a  single  one,  length  of 
days  ;  yet  this  one  far  transcends  both  the  other.  For  if 
we  should  restrain  it  to  this  world,  long  life  is  a  great  bless- 
ing, and  more  valuable  than  wealth  and  worship.  But 
taking  it,  as  it  is  meant,  for  eternity  (for  this  life  is  but  a 
span  lonar ;  a  span  then,  now  scarce  the  length  of  a  finger), 
as  Psal.  xxiii.  6,  "  I  will  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  for 
ever;"  originally  to  length  of  days,  but  fitly  translated 
for  ever.  The  left  hand  is  as  far  exceeded  by  the  right,  as 
short  mortality  is  by  everlastingness.  Aged  Israel  to  his 
grandchildren,  K[)hraini  and  Manassch,  two  sons  of  Joseph, 

P 


226  god's  bounty  ;  or  blkssixgs  of  both  his  hands. 
when  the  father  had  placed  the  first-born,  ]\Ianasseh,  to  liis 
right  hand,  and  Ephraim,  the  younger,  to  his  left  ;  ho, 
crossing  his  hands,  laid  the  right  upon  Ephraim  and  the 
left  upon  Manasseh  (Gen.  xlviii.  14).  AMien  Joseph  would 
have  removed  his  hands,  he  refused  :  "I  know  it,  my  son,  I 
know  it.  Manasseh  also  shall  become  a  people,  and  he  also 
shall  be  great ;  but  truly  his  younger  brother  shall  be  greater 
than  he."  The  Lord  doth  bless  many  Manassehs  with  his 
left  hand  in  riches  and  honours ;  but  blessed  be  that  Ephraim 
to  whom  his  right  hand  is  commended.  Lord,  let  others 
enjoy  the  treasures  of  thy  left  hand,  but  lay  thy  right  upon 
our  souls. 

4.  I  conclude.  Smce  the  Lord,  out  of  both  his  hands, 
pours  and  showers  upon  us  these  mercies,  what  should  we  do 
but  be  thankful  ?  Shall  we  receive  benefits  by  heaps  ;  and 
is  the  incense  of  our  gratitude  of  so  thin  a  smoke  ?  All 
these  blessings  seem  to  say  to  man.  Take,  and  take  heed. 
Accipe,  redde,  cave  :  Receive,  return,  beware.  Take  warmth 
fi-om  me,  saith  Apparel ;  heat  from  me,  saith  Fire  ;  strength 
from  me,  saith  Bread.  Restore  thankfulness  to  the  Giver. 
Or  else  beware  lest  the  fire  burn  thee,  water  drown  thee, 
air  choke  thee  ;  lest  all  give  destruction  that  should  give 
comfort.  Receive  in  the  name  of  God  ;  return  in  the  praise 
of  God  ;  or  beware  in  the  fear  of  God.  To  whom,  for  the 
blessings  of  both  his  hands,  be  glory  ascribed  from  all  lips 
and  hearts,  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen. 


POLITIC  HIIJfTING 


"  Ef  an  wu  &  aanDlng  hnnter,  &  man  of  the  field :  and  Jacob  was  a  plain  man> 
idwelUng  in  tents."— ffm.  xxT.  37. 


POLITIC  HUNTING. 


"  Eiau  was  a  cunning  hunter,  a  man  of  the  fleliJ ;  and  Jacob  was  a  plain 
man,  dwelling  in  tents."— ii?.  27. 


When  God  hath  a  long  while  deferred  his  actual  bless- 
ings to  the  importunate  suppliants,  and  extended  their  de- 
sires, at  last  he  doubles  on  them  the  expected  mercy ;  so 
he  recompenseth  the  dilution  with  the  dilitation  and  enlarg- 
ing of  his  favours.  Rebekah  had  long  been  barren  ;  and  now 
the  Lord  opens  her  womb,  and  sets  her  a-teeming  ;  she  con- 
ceives two  at  once. 

It  Ls  observable  that  many  holy  women,  ordained  to  be 
mothers  of  men  specially  famous  and  worthy,  were  yet  long 
barren.  Sarah,  the  wife  of  Abraham,  that  bore  Isaac  ;  Re- 
bekah, the  wife  of  Isaac,  that  bore  Jacob  ;  Rachel,  the  wife 
of  Jacob,  that  bore  Joseph  ;  Hannah,  the  mother  of  Samuel ; 
Elisabeth,  the  mother  of  John  the  Baptist.  Hereof  may  be 
given  some  reasons. 

1.  One  Chrysostom  (Horn.  49,  in  Gen.)  gives,  Ut  ex  mi- 
rahili  partu  sterilium,  prcestrueretur  fides  parlui  Virginia : 
That  by  the  miraculous  cliild-bearing  of  barren  women,  a 
way  might  be  made  to  believe  the  birth  of  Christ  by  a 
virgin. 

2.  To  shew  that  Israel  was  multiplied,  not  by  natural  suc- 
cession, but  by  grace.  So  Theodoret  (Quest.  74,  in  Gen.) 

3.  To  exercise  the  faith,  hope,  and  patience  of  such  as, 
notwithstanding  a  promise,  had  their  issue  delayed. 

But  now  Isaac  prays,  God  hears ;  Rebekah  conceives  :  she 
conceives  a  double  burden  :  a  pair  of  sons  struggling  in  her 
womb.    Her  body  is  no  less  disquieted  with  this  plenty 


230  POLITIC  nUXTING. 

than  her  mind  was  before  with  the  lack  of  children.  Esau 
and  Jacob  were  born  •,  brethren  they  are,  not  more  near  in 
birth  than  different  in  disposition  ;  for  "  Esau  was  a  cunning 
hunter,  a  man  of  the  field :  but  Jacob  was  a  plain  man, 
dwelling  in  tents." 

These  two  are  the  subject  of  my  discourse,  wherein  I  re- 
gard their  nomina,  omina  :  names  and  proceedings.  Their 
names,  Esau  and  Jacob,  note  their  conditions  for  opposite. 
The  one  a  cunning  hunter,  the  other  a  plain  man.  Of  both 
whom  I  will  be  bold  to  speak  literally  and  liberally  :  lite- 
rally, of  their  individual  persons ;  liberally,  as  they  were 
figures  and  significations  of  future  things. 

For  herein  is  not  only  regardable  a  mere  historj-,  but  a 
mystery  also.  And  as  St  Paul  applied  the  true  story  of 
Isaac,  the  sou  of  the  free,  and  Ishmael,  the  son  of  the  bond- 
woman, that  by  these  things  was  another  thing  meant  (Gal. 
iv.  24) ;  so  I  may  conclude  of  these  two  brothers  in  the 
same  manner,  verse  29  :  "  A.s  then,  he  that  was  born  after  the 
flesh  persecuted  him  that  was  bom  afler  the  Spirit,  even 
so  is  it  now."  So  it  is  now,  and  so  it  shall  be  to  the  end  of 
the  world. 

I  must  speak,  Jirst,  of  the  first-bom,  Esau.  It  is  probable 
he  was  called  Esau  in  regard  of  his  manner  of  birth.  Verse 
25,  "  He  that  came  out  first,  was  red  all  over  like  an  hairy 
garment,  and  they  called  his  name  Esau." 

Some  derive  it  from  the  Hebrew  word  Qtiasah,  which 
signifieth  to  make ;  and  taken  passively,  it  implies  a  perfect 
man.  For  he  came  forth  red  and  hairj- ;  red,  to  betoken 
his  bloody  disposition  ;  hairj',  to  shew  his  savage  and  wild 
nature.  Other  children  are  bora  with  hair  only  on  the 
head,  eye-lids,  and  brows,  but  he  was  hairy  all  over ;  pro- 
mising extraordinary  cmelty. 

He  had  three  names,  1 .  Esau,  because  he  was  complete. 
2.  Edom,  because  he  was  red  of  complexion ;  or  because 
he  coveted  the  red  pottage.    3.  Seir,  that  is,  hair. 

You  hear  his  name,  listen  to  his  nature.    God's  Spirit 


POLITIC  IIUNTINO.  231 

gives  him  this  character,  "  he  was  a  cunning  hunter,"  &c. 
A  name  doth  not  constitute  a  nature,  yet  in  holy  writ,  very 
often  the  nature  did  fulfil  the  name  and  answer  it  in  a 
future  congruence. 

The  character  hath  two  branches, 

, .   )  Dition. 
notmghisj 

His  condition  or  disposition  was  hunting  ;  his  dition,  por- 
tion, or  seigniory,  was  the  field  :  he  was  a  field-man. 

The  first  mark  of  his  character  is,  "  a  cunning  hunter;" 
wherein  we  have  expressed 


Lis 


(Power, 
j  Policy. 


His  strength  and  his  sleight ;  his  brawn  and  his  brain. 
BGs  might ;  he  was  a  hunter.    His  wit ;  he  was  a  cunning 


His  .strength  •  A  H/ritei- 

Hunting,  in  itself,  is  a  delight  lawful  and  laudable,  and 
may  well  be  argued  for  fi-om  the  disposition  that  God  hath 
put  mto  his  creatures.  He  hath  naturally  inclined  one  kind  of 
beasts  to  pursue  another,  for  man's  profit  and  pleasure.  He 
hath  given  the  dog  a  secret  instinct  to  follow  the  hare,  the 
hart,  the  fox,  the  boar ;  as  if  he  would  direct  a  man  by  the 
finger  of  nature  to  exercise  those  qualities  which  his  divine 
wisdom  created  in  them. 

There  is  no  creature  but  may  teach  a  good  soul  one  step 
toward  his  Creator.  The  world  is  a  glass,  wherein  we  may 
contemplate  the  eternal  power  and  majesty  of  God.  "  For 
the  invisible  things  of  him,  from  the  creation  of  the  world, 
are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the  things  that  are 
made,  even  his  eternal  power  and  Godhead,"  Rom.  i.  20. 
It  is  that  great  book,  of  so  large  a  character,  that  a  man 
may  run  and  read  it.    Yea,  even  the  simplest  man  that  can- 


232 


POLITIC  HrNTING. 


not  read  may  yet  spell  out  of  this  book  that  there  is  a 
God.  Every  shepherd  hath  this  calendar,  every  plough- 
man this  ABC.  What  that  French  poet  divinely  sung,  is 
thus  as  sweetly  Englished  : 

The  world's  a  school,  where,  in  a  general  story, 
God  always  reads  dumb  lectures  of  his  glory. 

But  to  our  purpose.  This  practice  of  hunting  hath  in  it, 
1.  Recreation;  2.  Benefit. 

Delight.  Though  man  by  hb  rebellion  against  his  Crea- 
tor forfeited  the  charter  -which  he  had  in  the  creatures,  and 
hereon  Adam's  punishment  was  that  he  should  work  for  that 
sudore  viiltus,  which  erst  sprung  up  naturally  beneficio  crea- 
toris ;  yet  this  lapse  was  recovered  in  Christ  to  beUevers, 
and  a  new  patent  was  sealed  them  in  his  blood,  that  they 
may  use  them  not  only  ad  riecessitatem  vttoe,  but  also  in  de- 
lectationem  animi.  So  God  gives  man  not  only  bread  and 
wine  to  strengthen  his  heart,  but  even  oil  to  refresh  his 
countenance.  "  Let  thy  garments  be  always  white,  and  let 
thy  head  lack  no  ointment,"  Eccles.  i.x.  8.  When  Solomon 
had  found  men  pulling  on  themselves  unnecessar}'  vexations 
in  this  world,  and  yet  not  buj-ing  peace  in  heaven  with  their 
troubles  on  earth,  he  concludes,  "  Then  I  commended  mirth, 
because  a  man  hath  no  better  thing  under  the  sun,  than  to 
eat,  and  to  drink,  and  to  be  merry ;  for  that  shall  abide 
with  him  of  his  labour,  the  day  of  his  life  that  God  giveth 
Iiim  under  the  sun,"  Eccles.  viii.  15. 

But  there  is  a  liberty,  the  bounds  whereof,  because  men's 
affections  cannot  keep,  it  is  better  their  understandings  knew 
not.  I  may  say  of  too  many  as  Seneca  ;  Nihil  falicitali 
eorum  deest,  7iisi  moderatio  ejiis :  They  have  happiness  enough, 
if  they  could  moderate  it.  Nothing  is  magis  proprium  ma- 
teria, say  philosophers,  more  proper  to  matter  than  to 
flow  ;  nisi  aforma  sistitur,  unless  the  form  restrain  and  stay 
it.  Nothing  is  more  peculiar  to  man  than  to  run  out,  and 
to  err  exorbitantly,  if  grace  direct  not. 

Men  deal  with  recreation  as  some  travellers  do  with  ano- 


POLITIC  HUNTING.  233 

ther's  grounds ;  tbey  beg  passage  through  tliem  in  winter, 
for  avoidance  of  the  miry  ways  ;  and  so  long  use  it  on  suf- 
ferance that  at  last  they  plead  prescription,  and  hold  it  by 
custom.  God  allows  delights  to  succour  our  infirmity,  and 
we  saucily  turn  them  to  habitual  practices.  Therefore  Solo- 
mon condemns  it  in  some,  as  he  commends  it  in  others.  "  Re- 
joice in  thy  youth,"  and  follow  thy  vanities  ;  "  but  know, 
that  for  all  this,  God  will  bring  thee  into  judgment,"  Eccles. 
xi.  9.  And  our  Saviour  denounceth  a  vce  ridcnlibiis,  for  they 
that  will  laugh  when  they  should  weep  shall  mourn  when 
they  might  have  rejoiced. 

We  often  read  of  Christ  weeping,  never  laughing  ;  taking 
his  creatures  for  sustentation,  not  for  recreation.  Indeed 
he  afforded  us  this  benefit ;  and  what  we  had  lost,  as  it 
were  ex  poslliminio,  he  recovered  to  us.  But  it  were  strange 
that  hceres  succedcns  in  defmtcti  locum  should  do  more  than 
the  testator  ever  did  himself  or  allowed  by  his  grant ;  or 
that  servants  and  sinners  sliould  challenge  that  which  was 
not  permitted  to  their  Master  and  Saviour.  But  thus  we 
pervert  our  liberty,  as  the  Pharisees  did  the  law,  in  sensum 
reprobum  (to  a  corrupt  sense).  These  hunt,  but  keep  not 
within  God's  pale,  the  circumferent  limits  wherein  he  hath 
mounded  and  bounded  our  liberty.' 

Benefit.  Recreations  have  also  their  profitable  uses,  if 
rightly  undertaken. 

1.  The  health  is  preserved  by  a  moderate  exercise.  Se- 
dentariam  agentes  vitam :  they  that  live  a  sedentary  life  so 
find  it. 

2.  The  body  is  prepared  and  fitted  by  these  sportive  to 
more  serious  labours,  when  the  hand  of  war  shall  set  them 
to  it. 

3.  The  mind,  wearied  with  graver  employments,  hath 
thus  some  cool  respiration  given  it,  and  is  sent  back  to  the 
service  of  God  with  a  revived  alacrity. 

His  policy.    A  Cunning  Hunter. 
But  we  have  hunted  too  long  with  Esau's  strength,  let  us 
learn  his  sleight ;  a  cunning  hunter.  Hunting  requires  tantum 


234 


POLITIC  HUNTING. 


artis,  quantum  martis  (as  much  art  as  strength) ;  plain  force 
is  not  enough,  there  must  be  an  accession  of  fraud.  There 
is  that  common  sense  in  the  creatures  to  avoid  their  pur- 
suers. Fishes  will  not  be  taken  with  an  empty  hook,  nor 
birds  with  a  bare  pipe,  though  it  go  sweetly,  nor  beasts 
with  Briareus'  strength  only,  though  he  had  an  hundred 
hands.  Here'astus  polentior  ai-mis :  (sleight  surpasses  might). 
Fishes  must  have  a  bait,  birds  a  net ;  and  he  that  takes 
beasts  must  be  a  cunning  hunter.  "  Can  a  bird  fall  into 
a  sn.are  upon  the  earth,  where  no  gin  is  for  him  ?''  Amos 
iii.  5.  N.ay,  often  both  vises  and  devices,  toils  and  toilings, 
strength  and  stratagems,  are  all  too  little. 

A  Cunning  Hunter. 

It  appears  that  Es.au's  delight  was  not  to  surprise  tame 
beasts  that  did  him  ser\'icc,  but  wild  ;  for  against  the  for- 
mer there  needed  no  such  cunning.  How  easily  is  the  ox 
brought  to  the  yoke,  the  horse  to  the  bit,  the  lamb  to  the 
slaughter?  His  intention  and  contention  was  against  wild 
and  noxious  creatures. 

This  observation  teacheth  us  to  do  no  violence  to  the 
beasts  that  serve  us.  Solomon  stamps  this  mark  on  the 
good  man's  forehead,  that  he  is  "  merciful  to  his  beast."  And 
the  law  of  God  commanded  that  "  the  mouth  of  the  ox 
should  not  be  muzzled  that  treadeth  out  the  corn."  God 
opened  the  mouth  of  an  ass  to  reprove  the  folly  of  Balaam, 
who  struck  her  undeservedly  for  not  going  forward,  when 
God's  angel  stood  ad  oppositum. 

Those  sports  are  then  intolerable,  wherein  we  vex  those 
creatures  that  spend  their  strength  for  our  benefit.  God 
therefore  often  justly  suffers  them  to  know  their  own  power, 
and  to  revenge  themselves  on  our  ingratitude.  The  Ro- 
man soothsayers  divined  that  when  bulls,  dogs,  and  a^ses 
(beasts  created  for  use  and  obedience)  grew  mad  on  a  sud- 
den, helium  servile  imminebat,  it  boded  some  servile  war  and 
insurrection.  But  we  may  truly  gather,  that  when  God 
suffers  those  serviceable  and  domestic  creatures  to  make 
mutiny  and  rebellion  against  us,  that  he  is  angrj-  with 


POLITIC  HUNTING. 


235 


our  sins ;  and  that  they  no  otherwise  shake  off  our  service 
than  we  have  shaken  off  the  service  of  God.  So  long  as 
we  keep  our  covenant  with  the  Lord,  he  makes  a  league 
for  us  with  the  beasts  of  the  field ;  but  when  we  fall  from 
our  allegiance,  they  fall  from  theirs,  and  (without  wonder) 
quit  our  rebellion  against  God  with  their  rebellion  against 
us.  AVc  see  what  we  get  by  running  from  our  Master ;  wo 
lose  om*  servants. 

But  if  they  that  fly  from  God  by  contempt  shall  thus 
speed,  what  shall  become  of  them  that  fly  upon  God  by 
contumacy?  If  wicked  Nabal  could  blame  the  servants, 
qui  fugiunt  Dominos,  that  ran  from  their  masters  ;  how  would 
he  condemn  them,  qui  persequutitur,  that  run  upon  them 
with  violence  ?  But  if  we  band  ourselves  against  God,  he 
hath  his  hosts  to  fight  against  us.  Fowls  in  the  air,  fishes 
in  the  sea,  beasts  on  the  earth,  stones  on  the  street,  will 
take  his  part  against  us.  So  long  doth  the  hen  clock  her 
chickens  as  she  takes  them  to  be  hers  ;  but  if  they  fly  from 
the  defence  of  her  -wings,  she  leaves  them  to  the  prey  of 
the  kite.  So  long  as  we  obey  God,  heaven  and  earth  shall 
obey  us,  and  evei-y  creature  shall  do  us  service ;  but  if  we 
turn  out-laws  to  him,  we  are  no  longer  in  the  circle  of  his 
gracious  custody  and  protection. 

A  Cunning  Hunter. 

As  cunning  as  he  was  to  take  beasts,  he  had  little  cun- 
ning to  save  himself.  How  foolish  was  he  to  part  with  his 
birthright  for  a  mess  of  lentile  pottage  ?  And  since  there  is 
a  necessary  discussion  of  his  folly,  as  well  as  of  his  cunning, 
I  wUl  take  here  just  occasion  to  demonstrate  it,  and  that  in 
five  circumstances. 

1.  He  had  a  ravenous  and  intemperate  desire.  This  ap- 
pears by  these  phrases  he  used.  1.  "  Feed  me,  I  pray  thee" 
(verse  30);  satisfy,  saturate,  satiate  me;  or  let  me  swal- 
low at  once,  as  some  read  it :  the  words  of  an  appetite  in- 
sufferable of  delay.  2.  To  shew  his  eagerness,  he  doubles 
the  word  for  haste,  with  that  red,  with  that  red  pottage  ;  red 
was  his  colour,  red  his  desire.    He  coveted  red  pottage,  he 


236 


rOLlllC  UUXTIXG. 


dwelt  in  a  red  soil,  called  thereon  Idumea ;  and  in  the  text, 
Therefore  u  as  his  name  called  Edum.  3.  He  says,  /  am 
faint;  and  (verse  32)  at  the  point  to  die,  if  I  have  it  not; 
like  some  longing  souls  that  have  so  weak  a  hand  over  their 
appetites,  that  they  must  die  if  their  humour  be  not  fulfilled. 
We  may  here  infer  two  observations. 

1.  That  intemperance  is  not  only  a  filthy  but  a  foolish 
sin.  It  is  impossible  that  a  ravenous  throat  should  lie  near 
a  sober  brain  ;  there  may  be  in  such  a  man  understanding 
and  reason  ;  but  he  neither  hears  that  nor  follows  this.  A 
city  may  have  good  laws,  though  none  of  them  be  kept. 
But  as  in  sleepers  and  madmen,  there  is  habitus  rationis, 
non  usiis  et  actiis  (Sen  ep.  21,  ad  Lucil) :  Such  men  have 
reason,  but  want  the  active  use.  Venter proBcepta  non  audit, 
(Id.  ep.  60) :  The  belly  hath  no  ears.  Though  you  would 
write  such  men's  epitaphs  whilst  they  are  living,  }et  you 
cannot ;  for  mortem  suam  antecesserunt,  they  have  ante-acted 
their  death,  and  buried  themselves  alive ;  as  the  French 
proverb  says,  They  have  digged  their  grave  with  their  teeth. 
The  philosopher,  passing  through  Vacia  the  epicure's  grounds, 
said,  Hie  sitiis  est  Vacia:  not  here  he  lives,  but  here  he 
lies  ;  as  it  were  dead  and  sepulchred.  The  pai-siniony  of 
ancient  times  hath  been  admirable.  The  Arcadians  lived 
on  acorns  ;  the  Argives  on  apples  ;  the  Athenians  on  figs ; 
the  Tyrinthians  on  pears ;  the  Indians  on  canes  ;  the  Car- 
manes  on  palms  ;  the  Sauromatians  on  millet ;  the  Persians 
on  nasturtio,  with  cresses ;  and  Jacob  here  made  dainty  of 
len tiles  (iElian  var.  hist.  lib.  3). 

2.  That  a  man  may  epicurize  on  coarse  fare,  for  lentile  pot- 
tage was  no  e.xtraordinar}'  fine  diet.  But  as  a  man  may  be 
a  Croesus  in  his  purse,  yet  no  Cassius  in  his  pots  ;  so,  on 
the  contrarj',  another  may  be  (as  it  is  said  of  Job)  poor  to 
a  proverb,  yet  be  withal  as  voluptuous  as  Esau,  ilen  have 
talem  dentem,  qualem  mentem :  such  an  appetite  as  they  have 
affection.  And  Esau  may  be  as  great  a  glutton  in  his  pot- 
tage as  those  greedy  dogs  (Isa.  hi.  12)  that  fill  themselves 
with  strong  wines  ;  or  those  fat  bulls  that  eat  the  lambs  and 
calves  out  of  the  stall  (Amos  \i.  -4).    Thus  the  poor  may 


\ 

POLITIC  HUNTING.  23^ 

sin  as  much  in  their  throat  as  the  rich ;  and  be  epicures 
tarn  late,  though  not  tarn  laute,  in  as  immoderate,  though 
not  so  dainty  fare.  Indeed  hibour  in  many  bodies  requires 
a  nioi-e  plentiful  repast  than  in  others  ;  and  the  sedentary 
gentleman  needs  not  so  much  meat  as  his  drudging  hmd  ; 
but  in  both  this  rule  should  be  observed,  Quantum  naturat 
siifficiat,  non  quantum  gulm  placeat :  Not  what  will  please  the 
throat,  but  what  will  content  nature  ;  to  eat  what  a  man 
sliould,  not  what  a  man  would.  The  poor  man  that  loves 
delicate  cheer  shall  not  be  wealthy  ;  and  the  rich  man  that 
loves  it  shall  not  be  healthy.  As  cunning  as  Esau  was,  here 
is  one  instance  of  his  folly,  an  intemperate  appetite. 

2.  His  folly  may  be  argued  from  his  base  estimation  of 
the  birthright ;  that  he  would  so  lightly  part  from  it,  and 
on  so  easy  conditions  as  pottage.  It  seems  he  did  measure 
it  only  by  the  pleasures  and  commodities  of  this  life,  which 
were  afforded  him  by  it.  "  I  am  ready  to  die  ;  and  what 
profit  shall  this  birthright  do  me?"  verse  32  ;  which  words 
import  a  limitation  of  it  to  this  present  world,  as  if  it  could 
do  him  no  good  afterwards.  Whereupon  the  Hebrews  gather 
tliat  he  denied  the  resurrection.  For  this  cause  the  apostle 
brands  hiniTOth  the  mark  of  jimfaneness  (Ileb.  xii.  ICj,  that 
he  changed  a  spiritual  blessing  for  a  temporal  pleasure. 

And  what,  O  ye  Esauites,  worldlings,  are  momentary 
delights  compared  to  eternal  ?  What  is  a  mess  of  gruel  to 
the  supper  of  glory  ?  The  belly  is  pleased,  the  soul  is  lost. 
Ne\er  was  any  meat,  except  the  forbidden  fruit,  so  dearly 
bought  as  this  broth  of  Jacob.  A  curse  followed  both  their 
feedings.  There  is  no  temporal  thing  without  trouble, 
though  it  be  far  more  worthy  than  the  lentile-pottage.  Ilath 
a  man  good  things  ?  he  fears  to  forego  them  ;  and  when  ho 
must,  could  either  wish  they  had  not  been  so  good,  or  a 
longer  possession  of  them.  Hath  he  evil?  they  bring  grief ; 
and  he  either  ^v^sheth  them  good  or  to  be  rid  of  them.  So 
that  good  things  trouble  us  \vith  fear,  evil  with  sorrow. 
Those  in  the  future,  these  in  the  present.  Those,  because 
they  shall  end  ;  these,  because  they  do  not  end.  Nothing, 


238 


POLITIC  ULTJTIXG. 


then,  can  make  a  man  truly  happy  but  eternity.  Pleasures 
may  last  a  while  in  this  world,  but  they  will  grow  old  with 
us  if  they  do  not  die  before  us.  And  the  Staff  of  age  is  no 
pole  of  eternity.  He  then  hath  too  much  of  the  sensual 
and  profane  blood  of  Esau  iji  him  that  will  sell  everlasting 
birthrights  and  comforts  for  transient  pleasures  (Ileb.  xii.  16.) 

3.  Another  argument  of  his  folly  was  ingratitude  to  God, 
who  had  in  mercy  vouchsafed  him  (though  but  by  a  few  mi- 
nutes) the  privilege  of  primogeniture  ;  wherewith  divines  hold 
that  tlie  priesthood  was  also  conveyed.  The  father  of  the  family 
exercised  it  during  his  life ;  and,  after  his  decease,  the  first- 
born succeeded  in  that  with  the  inheritance.  And  could 
Esau  be  ungrateful  to  a  God  so  gracious  ?  Or  could  he 
possibly  have  aspired  to  a  higher  dignity  ?  Wretched  un- 
thankfulness,  how  justly  art  thou  branded  for  a  prodigy  in 
nature  !  There  are  too  many  that,  in  a  sullen  neglect,  over- 
look all  God's  favours  for  the  want  of  one  that  their  affec- 
tions long  after.  Non  tarn  agunt  gratias  de  tribunatu,  quam 
queruntur,  qxiod  non  sunt  evecti  in  consulatum :  It  is  nothing 
•with  them  to  be  of  the  court,  except  they  be  also  of  the 
council. 

4.  His  obstinacy  taxeth  his  folly  ;  that,  after  cold  blood, 
leisure  to  think  of  the  treasure  he  sold,  and  digestion  of  his 
pottage,  he  repented  not  of  his  rashness.  But,  verse  34, 
"  He  did  eat,  and  drink,  and  rose  up,  and  went  his  way  ;" 
filled  his  belly,  rose  up  to  his  former  customs,  and  went  his 
way  without  a  quid  feci  ?  (what  have  I  done  ?)  Therefore  it  is 
added,  "  he  despised  his  birthright."  He  followed  his  plea- 
sures without  any  interception  of  sorrow,  or  interruption  of 
conscience.  His  whole  life  was  a  circle  of  sinful  customs ; 
and  not  his  birthright's  loss  can  put  him  out  of  them.  A 
circular  thing  implies  a  perpetuity  of  motion,  according  to 
mathematicians.  It  begins  from  all  parts  alike,  et  in  seipso  de- 
finil ;  ends  absolutely  in  itself,  without  any  point  or  scope 
objectual  to  move  to.  Earth  was  Esau's  home  ;  he  looks 
after  no  other  felicity ;  therefore  goes  his  way  with  less 


POLITIC  HUNTING. 


239 


thought  of  a  heavenly  birthright  than  if  he  had  missed  the 
deer  he  hunted.  It  is  wicked  to  sell  heavenly  things  at  a 
great  rate  of  worldly ;  but  it  is  most  wretched  to  vilipend 
them. 

5.  Lastly,  his  perfidious  nature  appeareth  ;  that  though 
he  had  made  an  absolute  conveyance  of  his  birthright  to  Ja- 
cob, and  sealed  the  deed  with  an  oath,  yet  he  seemed  to 
make  but  a  jest  of  it,  and  purposed  in  his  heart  not  to  per- 
form it.  Therefore  "  he  said  in  his  heart,  The  days  of 
mourning  for  my  father  are  at  hand ;  then  will  I  .slay  my 
brother  Jacob,"  chap,  xxvii.  41.  He  tarried  but  for  the 
funeral  of  his  father,  and  then  resolved  to  send  his  brother 
after  him  ;  as  Cain  did  Abel,  because  he  was  more  accepted. 
It  is  hard  to  judge  whether  he  was  a  worse  son  or  a  brother. 
He  hopes  for  his  father's  death,  and  purposeth  his  brother's  ; 
and  vows  to  shed  blood  instead  of  tears. 

Perhaps  from  his  example  those  desperate  wretches  of 
England  drew  their  instruction.  They  had  sold  their  birth- 
right, and  the  blessing  which  Jesus  Christ,  like  old  Isaac 
dying,  bequeathed  in  his  vnH  to  all  believers,  and  all  the 
interest  in  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  to  the  pope  for  a  few 
pottage, — red  pottage,  dyed  in  their  o^vn  blood,  for  seeking 
to  colour  it  with  the  blood  of  God's  anointed  and  of  his 
saints.  And  now,  in  a  malicious  rancour,  seeing  the  chil- 
dren of  truth  to  enjoy  as  much  outward  peace  as  they  were 
conscious  of  an  inward  vexation,  they  expected  but  diem 
liictus,  the  days  of  mourning,  when  God  should  translate  our 
late  queen,  of  eternally  blessed  memory,  from  a  kingdom  on 
earth  to  a  better  in  heaven  ;  and  then  hoped,  lilce  bustards 
in  a  fallow-field,  to  raise  up  their  heavy  fortunes  vi  turhi- 
nvi,  by  a  whirlwind  of  commotion.  But  our  Pecaior  Orbis 
(which  was  the  real  attribute  of  Constantino)  beguiled  their 
envious  hopes.  And,  as  Paterculus  said  of  the  Roman  em- 
pire after  Augustus's  death,  when  there  was  such  hope  of 
enemies,  fear  of  friends,  expectation  of  trouble  in  all,  Tmita 
fuit  itnius  viri  majestas,  ut  nec  bonis,  neque  contra  malos  opus 
foret  armis :  Such  was  the  majesty  of  one  man,  that  his  very 


240 


POLITIC  HUNTTKG. 


presence  took  away  all  use  of  arms.  Our  royal  Jacob  pre- 
cluded all  stratagems,  prevented  all  the  plots  of  these  mali- 
cious Esauites,  and  settled  us  both  in  the  fruition  of  the 
gospel  and  peace  with  it.  But  in  the  meantime  God  did 
punish  their  perfidious  machinations,  as  he  will  do  perjury 
and  treason,  wheresoever  he  find  them  ;  for  he  will  nail 
upon  the  head  of  the  perjurer  his  oath  traitorously  broken. 

In  all  these  circumstances  it  appeareth,  that  though  Esau 
■was  subtle  to  take  beasts,  he  had  no  cunning  to  hunt  out  his 
own  salvation.  From  all  which  scattered  stones  (brought 
together)  let  me  raise  this  building  of  instruction. 

The  wsest  for  the  world  are  most  commonly  fools  for  ce- 
lestial blessings.  AVicked  men  can  senlire  quae  sunt  carnis : 
(appi-ehend  the  things  of  the  flesh),  not  of  the  Spirit.  The 
prophet  Jeremiah  compounds  both  these,  and  shews  how  wis- 
dom and  folly  maj-  concur  in  one  man.  "  They  are  wise 
to  do  evil,  but  to  do  good  they  have  no  knowledge,"  Jer. 
iv.  22.  Let  them  war,  they  have  their  stratagems  ;  let 
them  plot  in  peace,  they  have  their  policies.  For  hunting, 
they  have  nets  ;  for  fowling,  gins  ;  for  fishing,  baits.  Not 
so  much  as  even  in  husbandi-y  but  the  professors  have  their 
reaches  :  they  know  which  way  the  market  goes,  which  way 
it  will  go.  Your  tradesmen  have  their  mysteries, — mysteries 
indeed,  for  the  mystery  of  iniquity  is  in  them.  They  have 
a  stock  of  good  words  to  put  off  a  stock  of  bad  wares  ; 
in  their  particular  qualities  they  are  able  to  school  Machia- 
vel. 

But  draw  them  from  their  centre  earth,  and  out  of  their 
circumference,  worldly  policies,  and  you  have  not  more 
simple  fools.  They  have  no  acquaintance  with  God's  sta- 
tutes ;  and  therefore  no  marvel  if  they  misjudge  vices  for 
virtues.  As  Zebul  told  Gaal,  that  he  mistook  umbras  :non- 
tiuni  pro  capilibus  homiiium:  (the  shadows  of  the  mountsuns 
for  men).  A  man  may  easily  run  his  soul  upon  the  rocks 
of  rebellion,  wliilst  he  neither  looks  to  the  card  of  conscience, 
nor  regards  the  compass  of  faith. 


POLITIC  HUNTING. 


241 


A  man  of  the  Field. 

We  have  taken  the  first  branch  of  his  character,  the 
main  proportion  of  his  picture  :  "  he  was  a  cunning  hunter." 
There  is  another  colour  added  :  "  he  was  a  man  of  the  field." 
But  because  I  take  it  for  no  other  than  an  explanation  of 
the  former  attribute,  an  exposition  of  the  proposition,  saving 
it  hath  a  little  larger  extent,  I  do  no  more  but  name  it. 

We  do  not  think  because  he  is  called  a  man  of  the  field, 
that  therefore  he  was  a  husbandman  ;  but  as  the  Septuagint 
call  him,  a  field  man,  in  regard  that  he  was  continually  con- 
versant in  the  field.  There  was  his  sport,  there  was  his 
heart.  Therefore  (ver.  28)  did  Isaac  love  Esau,  "because 
he  did  eat  of  his  venison."  He  loved  his  venison,  not  his 
conditions.  Some  would  read  it  thus,  "  lecause  venison  was 
in  his  tnouth,^'  and  so  turn  his  hunting  into  a  metaphor ;  as 
if  by  insinuation  he  had  wound  himself  into  the  favour  of 
Isaac.  But  the  other  reading  is  better,  saving  that,  by  the 
way,  we  may  give  a  reprehension  to  such  mouth-hunters. 

If  you  would  know  who  they  are,  they  are  the  flatterers. 
Of  whom  we  may  say,  as  huntsmen  of  their  dogs.  They  are 
well-mouthed,  or  rather  ill-mouthed  ;  for  ordinary  dogs' 
biting  doth  not  rankle  so  sore  as  their  licking.  Of  all 
dogs  they  are  best  likened  to  spaniels  ;  but  that  they  have  a 
more  venomous  tongue.  They  will  fawn,  and  fleer,  and 
leap  up,  and  kiss  their  master's  hand,  but  all  this  while 
they  do  but  hunt  him  ;  and  if  they  can  spring  him  once,  you 
shall  hear  them  quest  instantly,  and  either  present  hmi  to 
the  falcon,  or  worry  and  prey  on  him  themselves,  perhaps 
not  so  much  for  his  flesh  as  for  his  feathers.  For  they  love 
not  dominos,  but  duminorum  ;  not  their  master's  good,  but 
their  master's  goods. 

The  golden  ass,  got  into  sumptuous  trappings,  thinks  he 
hath  as  many  fi-iends  as  he  hath  beasts  coming  about  him. 
One  commends  his  snout  for  fairer  than  the  lion's  ;  another 
his  skin  for  richer  than  the  leopard's  ;  another  his  foot  for 
swift,er  than  the  hart's ;  a  fourth  his  teeth  for  whiter  and 
more  precious  than  the  elephant's  ;  a  last,  his  breath  for 


242 


POLITIC  HUNTDfG. 


sweeter  than  the  civet  beast's  ;  and  it  is  wonder,  if  some  do 
not  make  him  believe  he  hath  horns,  and  those  stronger 
than  bull's,  and  more  virtual  than  the  unicorn's.  All  this, 
while  they  do  but  hunt  him  for  his  trappings  :  uncase  him, 
and  you  shall  have  them  baflle  and  kick  him  !  This  doth 
Solomon  insinuate  :  "  Riches  gather  many  friends  ;  but  the 
poor  is  separated  from  his  neighbours,"  Prov.  xix.  4.  He 
says  not  the  rich  man,  but  riches.  It  is  the  money,  not  the 
man,  they  hunt. 

The  great  one  bristles  up  himself,  and  conceits  himself 
higher  by  the  head  than  all  the  rest ;  and  is  proud  of  many 
friends.  Alas  !  these  dogs  do  but  hunt  the  bird  of  paradise 
for  his  feathers.  These  wasps  do  but  hover  about  the  gally- 
pot,  because  there  is  honey  in  it.  The  proud  fly  sitting 
upon  the  chariot-wheel,  which,  hurried  with  violence,  hufled 
up  the  sand,  gave  out  that  it  was  she  which  made  all  that 
glorious  dust.  The  ass,  canning  the  Egj-ptian  goddess, 
swelled  with  an  opinion  that  all  those  crouches,  cringes,  and 
obeisances,  were  made  to  him.  But  it  is  the  case,  not  the 
carcass,  they  gape  for  So  may  the  chased  stag  boast  how 
many  hounds  he  hath  attending  him.  Tliey  attend,  indeed, 
as  ravens,  a  dying  beast.  Acteon  found  the  kind  truth  of 
their  attendance.  They  run  away  as  spiders  from  a  decay- 
ing house  ;  or  as  the  cuckoo,  they  sing  a  scurvy  note  for  a 
month  in  summer,  and  are  gone  in  June  or  July,  sure 
enough  before  the  fall.  These  hunters  are  gone  ;  let  them 
go  ;  for  they  have  brought  me  a  little  from  the  strictness 
and  directness  of  my  intended  speech.  But  as  a  physician 
coming  to  cure,  doth  sometimes  receive  some  of  his  patient's 
infection  ;  so  I  have  been  led  to  hunt  a  little  wide  to  find 
out  these  cunning  hunters. 

Be  pleased  to  observe  two  general  notes,  and  then  I  will 
come  to  the  appUcation. 

1.  These  two  brethren  were  bom  together,  were  brought 
up  together  ;  yet  how  great  difference  was  there  in  their 
composition  of  bodies,  in  their  tlisposition  of  minds,  in  their 
events  of  life  ;  or,  as  they  say,  in  their  fortunes  ? 

1.  For  bodies;  one  was  rough  and  hmry,  the  other  was 


POLITIC  HUNTING. 


243 


smooth  and  plain.  This  is  seldom  seen  in  children  begot 
and  borne  of  the  same  parents ;  but  seldom  or  never  in  two 
borne  at  one  birth.  And  we  may  go  so  far  with  the  phy- 
siognomist to  say,  that  complexion  (though  not  guides)  yet 
inclines  the  inward  disposition. 

2.  For  disposition  of  mind,  this  text  shews  a  wide  and 
opposite  difference.  Esau  was  a  "  cunning  hunter,"  a  man  of 
the  field  ;  but"  Jacob  "  a  plain  man,  dwelling  in  tents."  And 
Gregory  observes  from  this  example  (Lib.  5,  moral)  the 
remoteness  or  contrariety  of  worldlings'  and  holy  men's  de- 
lights. Men  of  the  world  hunt  after  the  pleasures  of  the 
■world,  as  Esau  :  men  of  grace  give  themselves  to  the  con- 
templation and  study  of  virtue,  as  Jacob. 

3.  For  events  or  success  in  this  world,  there  was  such 
distance  as  greater  could  not  be  imagined ;  for  it  is  here 
said,  "  the  elder  shall  servo  the  younger."  The  privilege  of 
primogeniture  belonged  to  Esau  ;  yet  both  that  and  the 
blessing  went  to  Jacob.  If  among  us  the  eldest  son  sell 
all  his  lands  to  a  younger  brother,  many  are  ready  to  bless 
his  stars,  and  to  say.  He  is  born  to  better  fortunes.  Divers 
things  are  here  figured. 

1.  Literally  here  is  intended,  that  the  Idimaeans,  the 
seed  of  Esau,  should  be  subject  to  the  Israelites,  the  poste- 
rity of  Jacob.  So  we  read,  that  they  were  subdued  to  Israel 
by  David.  "All  they  of  Edom  became  David's  servants," 
2  Sam.  viii.  14,  and  so  continued  to  the  reign  of  Jotham. 
This  gave  the  Jews  not  only  a  superiority  in  temporal  do- 
minions, but  in  spiritual  blessings,  the  grace  and  mercy  of 
God ;  for  they  were  the  visible  church,  and  Edom  was 
cut  off. 

2.  Mystically  this  signifies  the  carnal  Jews  subdued  to 
the  Christians  ;  though  the  other  were  the  elder  people 
(Aug.  de  Civit.  Deo,  lib.  16,  c.  25.)  Therefore  it  is  ob- 
servable, that  in  the  genealogy  of  Christ  (Matth.  i.),  many 
of  the  first-born  were  left  out.  Seth  is  put  in  for  the  son 
of  Adam,  yet  his  eldest  son  was  Cain  (Luke  iii.  38.)  So 
Abraham  begat  Isaac  (Matth.  i.  2),  yet  his  eldest  son  was 
Ishmael;  Isaac  begat  Jacob,  yet  here  his  first-bom  was 


244 


POLITIC  HUKTIKG. 


Esau.  Jacob  begat  Judah,  yet  his  first-bom  was  Reuben. 
And  David  begat  Solomon  in  Matthew's  genealogy,  Nathan  in 
Luke's,  j'et  both  younger  brethren  by  Bathsheba.  Israel  is 
called  God's  first-born  (Exod.  iv.  22),  and  his  chosen 
people,  his  appropriation.  Populus  Judccus  adumhratiis  fait 
in  his  profjeiiitis :  The  Jews  were  figured  in  these  first- 
born ;  and  we  the  Gentiles,  that  were  the  younger  brothers, 
have  got  away  the  birthright.  They  are  cast  o£F,  we  graffed 
in  ;  so  that  now  the  elder  seiTeth  the  younger  (Rom.  xi.  24.) 

Which  teacheth  us  to  look  well  to  our  charter  in  Christ ; 
for  it  is  not  enough  to  be  bom  of  beUeving  parents,  but  we 
must  also  be  believers.  Job  may  sacrifice  for,  not  expiate, 
his  son's  sins.  It  is  sinful  for  men  on  earth  to  deprive  the 
first-born  ;  but  God  may,  and  doth  it.  "  Israel  stretched 
out  his  right  hand,  and  laid  it  upon  Ephraim's  head,  who 
was  the  younger  ;  and  his  left  hand  on  Manasseh's  head, 
guiding  his  hands  wittingly,  though  Manasseh  was  the  first- 
born," Gen.  xlviii.  14.  And,  verse  18,  '■  AMien  Joseph 
said  to  him.  Not  so,  my  father ;  Jacob  answered,  I  know  it 
my  son,  I  know  it."  Thus  generation  may  be  cut  off,  re- 
generation never.  A  man  may  be  lost,  though  bom  in  the 
faith,  unless  he  be  bora  again  to  the  faith.  Neither  is  it 
enough  for  Ishmael  to  plead  liimself  the  son  of  Abraham, 
unless  he  can  also  plead  himself  the  son  of  God,  and  an  heir 
of  Abraham's  faith. 

2.  Commend  me  here  to  all  Genethliacks,  casters  of  na- 
tivities, star-worshippers,  by  this  token,  that  they  are  all 
impostors,  and  here  proved  fools.  Here  be  twins  conceived 
together,  born  together  ;  yet  of  as  different  natures  and 
qualities  as  if  a  vast  local  distance  had  sundered  their  births, 
or  as  if  the  original  blood  of  enemies  had  run  in  their  seve- 
ral veins.  It  is  St  Augustine's  preclusion  of  all  star  predic- 
tions out  of  this  place  (De  Civit.  Deo,  lib.  iv.  cap.  5).  And 
since  I  am  fallen  upon  these  figure-casters,  I  will  be  bold  to 
cast  the  destiny  of  their  profession,  and  honestly  lay  open 
their  juggling  in  si.x  arguments. 

1.  The  falsehood  of  their  Ephemerides.  The  prognostica- 


I'OLITIC  HUNTING.  245 

tors,  as  if  they  were  midwives  to  tlic  celestial  bodies,  plead 
a  deep  insight  into  their  secrets  ;  or  as  if,  like  pliysicians, 
they  had  cast  the  urine  of  the  clouds,  and  knew  where  the 
fit  held  them  :  that  it  could  neither  rain  nor  hail,  till  some 
star  had  first  made  tliem  acquainted  with  it.  Demonstra- 
tion hath  proved  these  so  false  and  ridiculous,  that  they 
may  rather  commovere  nauseam  qiiam  hilcm  (excite  our  dis- 
gust than  our  anger),  and  risum  (contempt)  more  than  both. 

Perhaps  when  some  appoint  rain  on  such  a  day,  some 
frost,  others  snow,  a  fourth  wind,  a  last  calm  and  fair  weather  ; 
some  of  these  may  hit,  some  of  these  must  hit  :  but,  lightly, 
he  that  against  his  knowledge  told  true  to-day,  lies  to- 
morrow ;  and  he  that  lied  yesterday,  may  happen  right  next 
day  ;  as  a  blind  archer  may  kill  a  crow. 

For  this  cause,  I  think,  some  were  called  erring  or  wan- 
dering stars  ;  not  so  much  that  they  were  uncertain  in  their 
own  seats  and  motions,  as  because  they  caused  to  err  their 
clients  and  gaping  inquisitors.  And  so  they  are  called  err- 
ing, in  the  same  phrase  and  sense  as  Death  is  called  pale  ; 
not  that  it  is  pale  itself,  but  because  it  maketh  those  pale  it 
seizeth  on  ;  and  winter  durty,  not  formaliter  (formally),  but 
secundum  effectum,  because  it  maketh  the  earth  durty.  So 
that  rather  their  own  speculations  by  the  stars,  than  the 
stars,  are  erring :  both  decepto  sensu  cum  judicio,  et  corruptis 
organis. 

Therefore  some  of  the  subtler  have  delivered  their  opi- 
nions in  such  spurious,  enigmatical,  dilogical  terms,  as  the 
devil  gave  his  oracles  ;  that  since  heaven  will  not  follow 
their  instructions,  their  constructions  shall  follow  heaven. 
And  because  the  weather  hath  not  fallen  out  as  they  have 
before  told,  they  will  now  tell  as  the  weather  falls  out.  So 
that  reading  their  books  you  would  think,  as  the  beggars 
have  their  canting,  they  had  got  a  new  language  out  of  the 
elements,  which  the  poor  earth  never  did  or  shall  under- 
stand :  and  it  is  thought  that  canting  is  the  better  language, 
because  it  is  not  so  ambitious  as  to  meddle  with  the  stars  ; 
whereof  the  prognosticator's  head  comes  as  short,  as  his 
tongue  doth  of  the  beggar's  eloquence. 


246 


POLITIC  HUNTING. 


2.  The  state  of  fortune-tellers  and  prophecy-usurpers, 
which  is  not  only  poor  and  beggarly  (as  if  the  envious 
earth  refused  to  relieve  those  that  could  fetch  their  living 
out  of  the  stars)  but  also  ridiculous. 

Nil  habet  infaelix  paupcrtas  durius  in  se, 
Quam  quud  ridiculos  homines  facit: 

(Unhappy  poverty  hath  nothing  harder  in  itself,  than  that  it 
makes  men  ridiculous.)  This  is  not  all  ;  but  they  are  utterly 
ignorant  of  their  own  destinies.  Now  qui  sibi  nescius,  cut 
prcesius  ?  He  that  is  a  fool  for  himself,  how  should  he  be 
wise  for  others  ?  Thracias  the  soothsayer,  in  the  nine  years' 
drought  of  Egj-pt,  came  to  Busiris  the  tjTant, 

Monstratque  piari 
Hospitis  effuso  sanguiue  posse  JoTem, 

and  told  him  that  Jupiter's  wrath  might  be  appeased  by 
sacrificing  the  blood  of  a  stranger.  The  tyrant  asked  him, 
what  countr>-man  he  was, — of  Eg}-pt,  or  an  alien  ?  lie  told 
him,  a  stranger. 

lUi  Busiris  ;  fies  Jovis  hostia  primus, 
Inquit,  et  Egyplo  tu  dabis  hospes  aquam  : 
Thou,  quoth  the  tyrant,  art  that  lucky  guest. 
Whose  blood  shall  net  our  soil,  and  give  us  rest. 

It  is  reported  that  Biron,  a  French  marshal,  came  to 
an  astrologer,  to  know  the  future  success  of  his  plots  ;  which, 
because  he  gave  disastrous,  the  angrj-  duke  began  to  his 
mischievous  intendments  in  the  fate-teUer's  blood.  Can  they 
read  other  men's  fates  in  the  stars,  and  not  their  own? 
Therefore  one  wittily  wrote  on  such  a  book,  after  throwing 
it  into  the  fire  : 

Thy  author  foretels  much  ;  alas  !  weak  friend, 
That  he  could  not  prognosticate  thy  end, 

3.  Tlic  quick  moving  of  the  celestial  bodies,  and  their 
remoteness  from  our  eyes  ;  both  our  sense  is  too  weak  to 
pierce  into  those  fires,  and  those  fires  are  too  quick  in  mo- 


POUTIC  HUNTING. 


247 


tion  for  our  apprehension.  Therefore  s.aith  St  Augustine, 
Si  tain  celeriter  alter  post  allerum  nascitur,  nl  cmlem  pars 
horoscopi  maneat,  paria  cimcta  quaero,  <juce  in  nullis  possunt 
geminis  inveniri  (De  Civ.  Deo,  Ub.  v.  cap.  3)  :  If  one  of 
the  tivins  be  so  immediately  boni  after  tlic  other,  that  the 
same  part  of  the  horoscope  abide,  1  require  likeness  and 
equality  in  them  both,  which  can  in  no  twins  be  found.  "We 
see  here  two  brethren  born  together  (it  is  most  likel}')  un- 
der the  reign  of  one  planet  or  constellation,  yet  more  differ- 
ent in  natures  than  the  planets  themselves. 

To  this  they  answer,  that  even  this  cause,  the  swift  mo- 
tion of  the  planets,  wrought  this  diversity,  because  they 
change  their  aspects  and  conjunctions  every  moment.  Tliis 
would  one  Nigidius  demonstrate,  who,  upon  a  wheel  turn- 
ing with  all  possible  swiftness,  let  drop  at  once  two  asper- 
sions of  ink,  so  near  together  as  possibly  he  could,  yet 
stantc  rota,  &c.  the  wheel  standing  still,  they  were  found 
very  remote  and  distant  ;  whereby  he  would  demonstrate, 
that  in  a  small  course  of  time  a  great  part  of  the  celestial 
globe  may  be  turned  about.  But  this  St  Austin  soundly 
returns  on  them  :  That  if  the  planetary  courses  and  celes- 
tial motions  be  so  swift,  it  cannot  be  discerned  under  what 
constellation  any  one  is  bom.  And  Gregory  (Iloni.  10,  sup. 
Evang.)  wittily  derides  their  folly,  that  if  Esau  and  Jacob 
were  not  therefore  born  under  one  constellation,  because 
they  came  forth  one  after  another,  by  the  same  reason, 
neither  can  any  one  be  born  under  one  constellation,  be- 
cause he  is  not  born  all  at  once,  but  one  part  after  another. 

4.  Vita  hrevis  liominum  :  man's  short  and  brittle  life.  If  our 
age  were  now,  as  it  was  with  the  patriarchs,  when  the  stag, 
the  raven,  and  long-Uved  oak,  compared  with  man's  life, 
died  very  young,  they  might  then  observe  and  understand 
the  motion  and  revolution  of  the  stars,  and  behold  their  ef- 
fects ;  when,  if  any  star  liad  long  absented  itself  from  their 
contemplation,  they  could  stay  two  or  three  hundred  years 
to  see  it  again.    But  now,  as  an  English  nightingale  sung  ; 

Who  lives  to  age 
Fit  to  be  made  Methuselah's  page ! 


248 


POLITIC  HUNTING. 


On  necessity  this  astrologer  must  live  so  long  as  to  have 
observed  the  life  of  such  a  man,  bom  under  such  a  planet ; 
and  after  him  another  bom  in  the  like  manner.  Nay,  he 
must  overtake  the  years  of  Methuselah  in  the  successive 
contemplation  of  such  experiments.  But  this  life  is  not 
given,  therefore  not  this  knowledge. 

5.  The  infinite  number  of  the  stars  takes  from  them  all 
possibility  of  infallible  predictions.  They  cannot  give  their 
general  number  ;  and  can  they  give  their  singular  natures  ? 

To  attempt  it  is  imprudentia  ccecissima  ;  to  affirm  it,  impu- 
dentia  effrontissima :  blind  dotage,  shameless  impudence. 

6.  The  various  dispositions,  conditions,  natures,  and  stu- 
dies, cocetaneorum,  of  such  as  are  born  together.  So  Gre- 
gory reasons  of  these  t\vins :  Cum  eodem  momenta  mater 
utrumque  fuderit,  cur  non  una  utriusque  vitce  qmlilas  ( vel 
cequalitas)  fuit?  (Horn.  10,  in  Evang.)  When  the  mother 
brought  them  both  forth  at  one  instant,  how  comes  it  to 
pass  that  they  have  not  the  same  quality  and  equality  in  their 
lives  ?  Are  not  many  born  at  the  same  time,  and  under  the 
same  constellation.  Quorum  processus  et  successus  varios  et 
scepe  contrarios  videmus?  Whose  proceedings  and  events  we 
behold  so  different  ? 

If  we  may  give  credit  that  Romulus  and  Remus  were  both 
born  of  a  vestal  (defiled  by  a  soldier)  at  one  birth,  both 
exposed  together  to  a  vn\d  desert,  both  taken  together  and 
nourished  of  a  she-wolf,  both  building  and  challenging 
Rome  ;  yet  Romulus  slew  his  brother,  and  got  the  kingdom 
of  that  city,  and,  after  his  own  name,  called  it  Rome. 

If  Castor,  Pollux,  and  Helena  were  got  by  Jupiter,  and 
hatched  by  Loeda  out  of  one  egg,  how  came  they  to  so 
various  fortunes? 

Cicero  mentions  it  for  the  Chaldean  folly  (iEnead.  b.  Dc 
Di\'inat.  lib.  2),  that  they  would  have  omnes  eodem  tempore  or- 
ios,  all  that  were  bom  (wheresoever)  together,  eddem  condi- 
tione  nasci,  to  be  born  to  the  same  condition. 

But  were  all  the  infants  slain  at  one  time  by  Herod  born 
under  one  constellation  ?  Or  all  the  old  world  drowned  in 
the  deluge  under  one  star?  Or  all  soldiers  slain  in  one  iiiM 


POLITIC  HUNTIXG. 


249 


under  the  same  sign  ?  The  mathematicians  were  wont  to 
affirm  that  all  bom  under  the  sign  Aquarius  would  be  fishers ; 
but  in  Getulia  there  are  no  fishers  (Greg.  Honi.  10,  in 
Evang).  Was  never  any  there  born  under  the  sign  Aquarius  ? 
The  Crctians  (saith  Paul)  wei'c  always  liars.  What,  were 
they  all  bom  under  Mercury  ?  The  Athenians,  greedy  of 
novelties,  had  they  all  one  predominant  star  ?  The  Bel- 
gic  warriors,  were  they  therefore  all  borne  under  the  reign 
of  Mars? 

But  I  have  spent  too  much  breath  about  this  folly  of 
prognosticators.  Of  whom  it  may  be  said,  that  not  only 
"  the  children  of  this  world  are  wiser  in  their  generation 
than  the  children  of  light"  (Luke  xvi.  8)  ;  but  they  would  be 
wiser  ipsa  luce  than  the  light  itself.  They  would  know  more 
than  saints  and  angels,  and  search  out  the  uninvestigable 
things  of  the  Lord.  Nam  si  que  quoB  eventura  sunt,  pnc- 
videant,  cequiparent  Jovi :  if  they  could  foresee  future  things, 
they  would  brag  themselves  equal  to  God.  But  secret 
things  belong  to  God,  revealed  to  us.  The  other  is  both 
arrogant  in  man  and  derogant  to  God.  And  Gregory  says 
well :  "  If  such  a  star  be  a  man's  destiny,  then  is  man  made 
for  the  stars,  not  the  stars  for  man."  The  devils  know  not 
future  events  ;  and  will  these  boast  it  ?  Sus  Minervam  sci- 
licet. 

"  They  grew  up  together ;"  and  presently  "Esau  was  a  cun- 
ning hunter,"  Jacob  "  a  plain  man."  We  see  that  even  youth 
doth  insinuate  to  an  observer  the  incUnation  and  future 
course  of  a  man.  The  sprig  shooting  out  of  the  tree  bends 
that  way  it  will  ever  grow.  "  Teach  a  child  a  trade  in  his 
youth,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not  forget  it,"  saith  Solo- 
mon. Esau  entered  quickly  into  the  black  way  which  leads 
to  the  black  gates,  that  stand  ever  ready  open  for  black  souls. 
Patet  atri  janua  ditis.  As  if  he  should  want  rather  time  for 
his  sport  than  sport  for  his  time,  he  begins  early,  at  the 
very  threshold  of  his  life  and  morning  of  his  years.  Neqniti 
(tcursus  celerior  quam  cctatis:  His  wickedness  got  the  start  of 
his  age. 


250 


POLITIC  HUNTING. 


And  did  he  ever  stay  his  course,  that  foohsh  parents 
should  be  so  indulgent  to  their  children's  hccntiousness  ? 
Nay  even  ready  to  snib  and  check  their  forwardness  to 
heaven  with  that  curb,  A  young  saint  an  old  devil,  and  wild 
youth  Ls  blessed  with  a  stayed  age  ?  But  indeed  most  Ukely 
a  young  saint  proves  an  old  angel,  and  a  young  Esau  an  old 
devil. 

And  hence  follows  the  ruin  of  so  many  great  houses,  that 
the  young  master  is  suffered  to  live  like  an  Esau  till  he  hath 
hunted  away  his  patrimony,  which  scarce  lasts  the  son  so 
many  years  as  the  father  that  got  it  had  letters  in  his  name. 
But  what  cares  he  for  the  birthright ;  when  all  is  gone,  he, 
like  Esau,  can  live  by  the  sword.  He  will  fetch  gold  from 
the  Indies,  but  he  will  have  it.  But  he  might  have  saved 
that  journey,  and  kept  what  he  had  at  home.  If  the  usurer 
liath  bought  it,  though  for  porridge,  he  will  not  part  with  it 
again  though  they  weep  tears.  It  is  better  to  want  super- 
fluous means  than  necessarj'  moderation.  In  se  magna  ruunt, 
sumisque  negatum  est,  stare  diu:  (Ponderous  edifices  fall  by 
their  own  weight,  and  lofty  pinnacles  never  stand  long) ; 
especially  when  the  huge  colossus  have  not  sound  feet. 
Vast  desires,  no  less  than  buildings,  where  foundations  are 
not  firm,  sink  by  their  own  magnitude.  And  there  comes 
often  fire  ex  rhamno  out  of  the  bramble  that  bums  up  the 
men  of  Shechem  ( Judg.  ix.  20),  and  sets  on  fire  the  eagle's 
nest  in  the  cedars.  Parum  j'lsto,  "  A  little  that  a  righteous 
man  hath  is  better  than  the  riches  of  many  vricked,"  Psal. 
xxxvii.  16.  And  a  plain  Jacob  will  prosper  better  than  a 
profane  hunting  Esau.  Let  a  man  begin  then  with  God. 
"  A^Tierewithal  shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  way?  by 
taking  heed  thereto  according  to  thy  word,"  Psalm  cxix.  9. 

Thus  Uterally.  Let  us  now  come  to  some  moral  appUca- 
tion  to  ourselves. 

Hunting  is,  for  the  most  part,  taken  m  the  holy  Scripture 
in  the  worst  sense.  So  Nimrod  was  a  hunter,  even  to  a 
proverb  (Gen.  x.  9)  ;  and  that  before  the  Lord,  as  without 
fear  of  his  majesty.  Now  if  it  were  so  hateful  to  hunt 
beasts,  what  is  it  to  hunt  men  ?    The  wicked  oppressors  of 


POLITIC  HUNTING. 


251 


the  world  are  here  t}'ped  and  taxed,  who  employ  both  arm 
and  brain  to  hunt  the  poor  out  of  their  habitations,  and  to 
drink  the  blood  of  the  oppressed.    Herein  observe, 


are  their  prey, — any  man  that  either  their  wit  or  vio- 
lence can  practise  on.  Not  so  much  beggars ;  yet  they 
would  be  content  to  hunt  them  also  out  of  their  coasts  ; 
but  those  that  have  somewhat  worth  their  gaping  after,  and 
whose  estates  may  minister  some  gobbets  to  their  throats. 
Aquila  non  capit  muscas :  the  eagles  hunt  no  flies  so  long 
as  there  be  fowls  in  the  air.  The  commonalty,  that  by 
great  labour  have  gotten  a  little  stay  for  themselves,  these 
they  hunt  and  lie  along,  and  prey  on  their  prostrate  for- 
tunes. 

K  they  be  tenants,  woe  is  them  !  Fines,  rents,  carriages, 
slaveries  shall  drink  up  the  sweat  of  their  brows.  There  is  law 
against  coiners  ;  and  it  is  made  treason  justly  to  stamp  the 
king's  figure  in  forbidden  mettals.  But  what  is  mettal  to 
a  man,  the  image  of  God  ?  And  we  have  those  that  coin 
money  on  the  poor's  skins ;  traitors  they  are  to  the  King 
of  kings. 

The  whole  country  shall  feel  their  hunting.  They  hunt 
commons  into  severals ;  tilled  gi-ounds  into  pastures,  that 
the  gleaning  is  taken  from  the  poor  which  God  commanded 
to  be  left  them  ;  and  all  succour,  except  they  can  graze  in 
the  highways.  And  to  others,  to  whom  their  rage  cannot 
extend,  their  craft  shall ;  for  they  will  hoist  them  in  the 
subsidies,  or  overcharge  them  for  the  wars,  or  vex  them 
with  quarrels  in  kw,  or  perhaps  their  servants  shall  in  di- 
rect terms  beat  them.  Naboth  sliall  hardly  keep  his  vine- 
yard if  any  nook  of  it  disfigures  Ahab's  lordship.  If  they 
cannot  buy  it  on  their  own  price,  they  will  to  law  for  it ; 


the  ■<  Manner  of  hunting. 


The  Poor 


252 


POLITIC  HUNTING. 


wherein  they  respect  no  more  than  to  have  ansam  querelas, 
a  colourable  occasion  of  contention  ;  for  they  will  so  weary 
him  that  at  last  he  shall  be  forced  to  sell  it.  But  Tully  says 
of  that  sale,  Ereptio  non  emptio  est :  It  is  an  extorting,  not 
a  purchasing  (Lib.  4,  in  Vcr.) 

Thus  the  poor  man  is  the  beast  they  hunt ;  who  must 
rise  early,  rest  late,  eat  the  bread  of  sorrow,  sit  with  many 
a  hungry  meal,  perhaps  his  children  crj-ing  for  food,  while 
all  the  fruit  of  his  pains  is  served  into  Nimrod's  table.  Cora- 
plain  of  this  while  you  wiU,  yet,  as  the  orator  said  of  Verres, 
Pecuniosus  nescit  damnari.  Indeed  a  money-man  may  not 
be  damnified,  but  he  may  be  damned.  For  tliis  is  a  crying 
sin,  and  the  wakened  ears  of  the  Lord  will  hear  it ;  neither 
shall  his  provoked  hands  forbear  it.  Si  tacuerint  pauperes, 
loquentur  lapides :  If  the  poor  should  hold  their  peace,  the 
very  stones  would  speak.  The  fines.  Takings,  enclosures, 
oppressions,  vexations,  will  cry  to  God  for  vengeance.  "  The 
stone  will  crj'  out  of  the  wall,  and  the  beam  out  of  the  tim- 
ber shall  answer  it)"  Ilab.  ii. 

You  see  the  beasts  they  hunt ;  not  foxes,  not  wolves  nor 
boars,  bulls  nor  tigers.  It  is  a  certain  observation,  no  beast 
hunts  its  own  kind  to  devour  it.  Now  if  these  should  pro- 
secute wolves,  foxes,  &c.,  they  should  then  hunt  their  own 
kind,  for  they  are  these  themselves  ;  or  rather  worse  than 
these,  because  here  Jiomo  homini  liiptts.  But  though  they 
ai-e  men  they  hunt,  and  by  nature  of  the  same  kind,  they 
are  not  so  by  quality ;  for  they  are  lambs  they  pei'secute. 
In  them  there  is  blood,  and  flesh,  and  fleece  to  be  had  ;  and 
therefore  on  these  do  they  gorge  themselves.  In  them  there 
is  weak  armour  of  defence  against  their  cruelties,  therefore 
over  these  they  may  domineer.  I  will  speak  it  boldly ; 
there  is  not  a  mighty  Nimrod  in  this  land  that  dares  hunt 
his  equal ;  but  over  his  inferior  lamb  he  insults  like  a  young 
Nero.  Let  him  be  graced  by  high  ones,  and  he  must  not 
be  saluted  under  twelve  score  ofl".  In  the  country  he  proves 
a  termagant ;  his  very  scowl  is  a  prodigy,  and  breeds  an 
earthquake.  He  would  be  a  Caesar,  and  tax  all ;  it  is  well 
if  he  prove  not  a  cannibal.     Only  Jlacro  salutes  Seianus  so 


POLITIC  HUNTtKG. 


253 


long  as  he  is  in  Tiberius'  favour ;  cast  him  fi'om  that  pin- 
nacle, and  the  dog  is  ready  to  devour  him. 

You  hear  the  object — they  "hunt."  Attend  the  manner, 
and  this  you  shall  find,  as  Esau's,  to  consist  in  two  things  : 
force  and  fraud.  They  are  not  only  hunters,  but  cunning 
hunters. 

1.  For  their  force.  They  are  rohusti  latroncs  (strong 
spoilers),  and  have  a  violent,  impetuous,  imperious  hunting. 
"  Desolation  and  destruction  are  in  their  paths,"  Isa.  lix.  7. 
We  may  say  of  them  as  TertuUian  said  of  the  Montanists, 
Non  tarn  lahorant  lit  ccdificarent  sua,  quam  ut  destruerent 
aliena.  They  seek  not  so  much  their  own  increasing  as  the 
depopulation  of  others.  Philosophers  hold  the  world  to  be 
composed  of  three  concurrent  principles — matter,  form,  and 
privation  ;  holding  the  last  to  be  rather  a  principle  of  trans- 
mutation than  of  establishment.  Oppressors,  besides  the 
matter,  which  is  the  commonwealth,  and  the  form,  which  is 
justice,  have  denied  to  make  necessary  also  privation. 

There  are  sins  which  strive  only  intra  orbem  smnn  furere; 
which  have  no  further  latitude  than  the  conscience  of  the 
committer ;  they  are  private  and  domestic  sins,  the  sting 
■whereof  dies  in  the  proprietary.  Such  are  prodigality,  env)', 
sloth,  pride.  Though  evil  example  may  do  somewhat,  they 
have  no  further  extension.  But  some  are  of  so  wild  a  na- 
ture that  they  are  mallets  and  swords  to  the  whole  country 
about  them.  And  these  are  distinctly  the  sins  of  the  hand. 
So  Micah  ii.  2  :  "  They  covet  fields,  and  take  them  by  vio- 
lence ;  and  houses,  even  a  man  and  his  heritage."  Why 
do  they  all  this,  but  because  manus potest,  "  It  is  in  the  power 
of  their  hand?"  (verse  1.)  And  they  measure  their  power, 
saith  Seneca,  by  the  span,  by  the  reacli  of  their  hands.  In- 
juriis  vires  metuntur  (De  Benef.  lib.  i.)  Anaxagoras  thought 
man  the  wisest  of  all  creatures,  because  he  hath  hands, 
■whereby  he  can  express  all  signs.  He  might  have  con- 
cluded him  the  most  wicked  of  all  creatures,  qida  manuatus, 
because  he  hath  hands ;  for  no  tiger  or  vulture  under 
heaven  is  more  hurtful  with  his  claws  and  talons  than  man 


254 


POLITIC  HUKTIXG. 


with  his  hands.  Achilles  asked  Palamedes,  going  to  the 
Trojan  wars,  why  he  went  without  a  servant  ?  He  showed 
liim  his  hands,  and  told  him  the}'  were  loco  servorum,  in  stead 
of  man\'  servants.  Mantes  organuin  organorum.  Their  dex- 
terity and  aptness  chargeth  them  with  sins,  whereof  the 
other  parts  arc  no  le.<s  guilty. 

For  the  most  part,  those  beasts  have  least  immanity  that 
have  most  strength.  Oxen,  and  horses,  and  elephants,  are 
tame  and  serviceable,  but  bees  and  hornets  have  stings. 
So  wisely  hath  the  Creator  disposed,  that  there  may  not  be 
a  conjunction  et  potential  et  malevolenticB :  that  might  and 
malice  may  not  meet.  So  they  are  suffered  to  have  will  to 
hurt,  and  not  power ;  or  power,  and  not  will.  The  cursed 
cow  hath  short  horns.  But  these  hunters  have  got  both. 
The  poet  saith : 

That  lions  do  not  pre;  on  yielding  things ; 
Pity's  infeoffed  to  the  blood  of  the  kings. 

Posse  et  nolle,  nobile :  That  thou  mayest  harm  and  wilt 
not,  is,  laus  tua,  thy  praise ;  that  thou  wouldst,  and  canst 
not,  gratia  Dei,  is  God's  providence.  Haman  would  hang 
Mordecai,  and  cannot ;  he  is  a  villain  in  hell  for  his  intent. 
David,  when  he  had  Saul  in  the  cave,  could  hurt  and  would 
not ;  he  is  a  saint  in  heaven.  Shimei  would,  but  cannot 
kill,  though  rail  on,  Da-vid  ;  David  can,  and  will  not  kill 
Shimei.  The  hot  disciples  would  have  fire  from  heaven  to 
destroy  the  Samaritans,  and  could  not ;  Christ  could  com- 
mand it,  and  would  not.  How  rare  is  a  man  of  this  dispo- 
sition among  us  !  If  advantage  hath  thrust  a  booty  into  his 
hands,  the  lamb  is  in  the  wolves'  cave  with  more  securitj-. 
Plead  what  thou  wilt,  prostrate  thy  own  innocence,  aggra- 
vate the  oppressor's  cruelty ;  he  answers  as  .^Isop's  wolf 
answered  the  lamb,  "  Thy  cause  is  better  than  mine,  but 
my  teeth  are  better  than  thine ;  I  ^vill  eat  thee."  And 
this  is  a  shrewd  in\'incible  argument,  when  the  cause  must 
be  tried  out  bj'  the  teeth.  Pactum  noii  pactum  est,  non 
pactum  pactum  est ;  quicquid  Hits  lubet :  Bargain  or  not  bar- 
gain, the  law  must  be  on  their  sides.   Nemo  potentes  tutus 


POLITIC  HUNTING. 


265 


potest  af/gredi:  He  coincs  to  his  cost,  that  comes  to  complain 
against  them  (Sen.  in  Medea.) 

2.  For  their  fraud.  They  are  cunning  hunters.  They 
arc  foxes  as  well  as  lions  to  get  their  prey.  Nay,  the  fox's 
head  doth  them  often  more  stead  than  the  lion's  skin. 
"  They  hunt  with  a  net,"  Mieah  vii.  2.  They  have  their 
politic  gins  to  catch  men.  Gaudy  wares  and  dark  shops 
(and  would  you  have  them  love  the  light  that  live  by  dark- 
ness, as  many  shopkeepers  ?)  draw  and  tole  customers  in, 
where  the  crafty  leeches  can  soon  feel  theii-  pulses  ;  if  they 
must  buy,  they  shall  pay  for  their  necessity.  And  though 
they  plead,  we  compel  none  to  buy  our  ware,  caveat  emptor  ; 
yet  with  fine  voluble  phrases,  damnable  protestations,  they 
will  cast  a  mist  of  en-or  before  an  eye  of  simple  truth,  and 
with  cunning  devices  hunt  them  in.  So  some  among  us 
have  feathered  their  nests,  not  by  open  violence,  but  politic 
circumvention.  They  have  sought  the  golden  fleece,  not  by 
Jason's  merit,  but  by  Medeas'  subtilty,  by  Medeas'  sorcery. 

K I  should  intend  to  discover  these  hunters'  plots,  and  to 
deal  punctually  with  them,  I  should  afford  you  more  matter 
than  you  would  afford  me  time.  But  I  limit  myself,  and 
answer  all  their  pleas  with  Augustine  :  "  Their  tricks  may 
hold  injure  fori,  but  not  in  jure  poll:  in  the  Common  Pleas 
of  earth,  not  before  the  King's  bench  in  heaven."  (De  Vita 
et  Morib.  Christ.) 

Neither  do  these  cunning  hunters  forage  only  the  forest 
of  the  world,  but  they  have  ventured  to  enter  the  pale  of 
the  church,  and  hunt  there.  They  will  go  near  to  empark 
it  to  themselves,  and  thrust  God  out.  So  many  have  done 
in  this  land  ;  and  though  it  be  danger  for  the  poor  hare  to 
preach  to  lions  and  foxes,  I  am  not  afraid  to  tell  them  that 
they  hunt  where  they  have  nothing  to  do.  Poor  ministers 
are  dear  to  them,  for  they  are  the  deer  they  hunt  for.  How 
many  parishes  in  England,  almost  the  number  of  half,  have 
they  enipailed  to  themselves,  and  chased  the  Lord's  deer 
out  ?  Yea  now,  if  God  lay  challenge  to  his  own  ground 
against  their  sacrilegious  appropriations,  for  his  own  titles, 


256 


POLITIC  HUNTING. 


they  are  not  ashamed  to  tell  him  they  are  none  of  his,  and 
what  laws  soever  he  hath  made,  they  will  hold  them  with  a 
7ion  obstante.  They  were  taken  into  the  church  for  patrons 
— defenders  ;  and  they  prove  offenders — thieves ;  for  most 
often  patrocinia,  latrocinia  (patronage  is  spoliation). 

You  have  read  how  the  badger  entertained  the  hedgehog 
into  his  cabin  as  his  inward  friend  ;  but  being  wounded 
with  the  prickles  of  his  offensive  guest,  he  mannerly  desired 
him  to  depart  in  kindness  as  he  came.  The  hedgehog  thus 
satisfies  his  just  expostulation,  that  he  for  his  part  found 
himself  very  well  at  ease  ;  and  they  that  were  not,  had  rea- 
son to  seek  out  another  place  that  likes  them  better.  So 
the  poor  horse,  entreating  help  of  the  man  against  the  stag, 
ever  after  non  equitem  dorso,  non  frcenum  depidit  ore  :  They 
have  rid  us,  and  bridled  us,  and  backed  us,  and  spurred  us, 
and  got  a  tyranny  over  us,  whom  we  took  in  for  our  fami- 
liar friends  and  favourites. 

3.  Now  for  their  hounds,  besides  that  they  have  long 
noses  themselves,  and  hands  longer  than  their  noses,  they 
have  dogs  of  all  sorts. 

Beagles,  cunning  intelhgencers.  Eb  laudabilior,  quo 
frauduletilior :  The  more  crafty  they  are,  the  more  com- 
mendable (Aug.  Confes.  Ub.  i.) 

Their  setters,  prowling  promoters  ;  whereof  there  may 
be  necessary  use,  as  men  may  have  of  dogs,  but  they  take 
them  for  mischievous  purjioses. 

Their  spaniels,  fawuing  sycophants,  that  lick  their  mas- 
ters' hands,  but  are  brawling  ever  at  poor  strangers. 

Their  great  mastiffs,  surly  and  sharking  bailifls,  that  can 
set  a  rankling  tooth  in  the  poor  tenant's  ribs. 

They  have  their  bandogs,  corrupt  solicitors,  parrot-law- 
yers, that  are  their  properties  and  meer  trunks,  whereby 
they  inform  and  plead  before  Justice  against  justice.  And 
as  the  hounds  can  sometimes  smell  out  the  game  before 
their  master,  as  having  a  better  nose  than  he  an  eye  ;  so 
these  are  still  pickmg  holes  in  poor  men's  estates,  and  rak- 
ing up  broken  titles;  which  if  they  justly  be  defended. 


POLITIC  UUNTING. 


257 


actio  sit  non  liistralis,  sed  secularii :  (The  suit  may  last,  not  a 
term,  but  a  century).  "Where  if  (because  justice  doth  some- 
times prevail)  it  go  against  them,  j'et  major  est  expensarvm 
siimptiai,  quam  sente.ntim  fructus:  The  cost  is  more  charge- 
able than  the  victory  profitable. 

Some  of  them,  whose  jiale  is  the  Burse,  have  their  blood- 
houuds,  long-nosed,  hook-handed  brokers,  that  can  draw 
the  sinking  estate  of  poor  men  by  the  blood  of  necessity. 
If  they  spy  pride  and  prodigality  in  the  streets,  they  watch 
over  them  as  puttocks  over  a  dying  sheep.  For  pascuntur 
scclere :  they  are  not  doves  but  ravens,  and  therefore  sequ- 
untur  cadavera,  follow  carcasses.  Oh  that  some  blessed 
medicine  could  rid  our  land  of  these  warts  and  scabs — free 
us  from  these  curs  !  The  cunning  hunters  could  not  do  so 
much  mischief  without  these  lurchers,  these  insatiate  hoimds. 

Thus  I  have  shewn  you  a  field  of  hunters  ;  what  should 
I  add,  but  my  prayers  to  heaven  and  desires  to  earth  that 
these  hunters  may  be  hunted  !  The  hunting  of  harmful 
beasts  is  commended  ;  the  wolf,  the  boar,  the  bear,  the  fox, 
the  tiger,  the  otter.  But  the  metaphorical  hunting  of  these 
is  more  praiseworthy  ;  the  country  wolves  or  city-foxes 
deserve  most  to  be  hunted.  Non  est  mecB  parvitatis,  Sfc.  I 
am  too  shallow  to  advise  you  de  modo :  I  only  vnsh.  it 
might  be  done.  They  that  have  authority  to  do  it  know 
best  the  means.  I  will  but  discover  the  game,  and  leave  it 
to  their  hunting,  naming  the  persons  they  should  hunt ;  they 
know  the  hounds  wherewithal. 

1.  There  is  the  mid-boar  that  breaks  over  God's  mounds 
and  spoils  liis  vineyard.  "  The  boar  out  of  the  wood  doth 
waste  it,  and  the  wild  beast  of  the  field  doth  devour  it," 
Psal.  Ixxx.  13.  This  is  the  depopulator  that  will  forrage 
and  lay  all  waste,  if  he  be  not  restrained.  AVhat,  do  you 
call  him  a  wasting  boar  ?  He  rather  encloseth  all,  breaketh 
up  none.  Yes  ;  he  lays  waste  the  commonwealth,  though 
he  encloseth  to  himself.  He  wasteth  societies,  communities, 
neighbourhood  of  people,  turns  them  otit  of  their  ancient 
doors,  sends  them  to  the  wide  world  to  beg  their  bread. 


258 


POLITIC  HUNTIKG. 


He  is  a  bloody  boar,  and  hath  two  damnable  tusks  ;  money 
to  make  him  frienrls,  and  to  charm  connivance  ;  and  a 
wicked  conscience  that  cares  not  to  svnm  to  hell  in  blood. 
The  brawny  shield  of  this  boar,  whereby  he  bears  off  all 
blows  of  curses,  is  the  security  of  his  own  dead  heart  ;  he 
thinks  the  cries  and  ululations  of  widows  and  orphans  the 
best  music.  'WTien  the  band  of  God  strikes  him  (as  strike 
him  it  will,  and  that  fearfully),  he  even  rouseth  and  rageth  on 
him  ;  and  dies  like  an  angrj-  boar,  foaming  at  the  mouth,  as  if 
he  were  spitting  defiance  at  heaven.  Let  this  beast  be 
hunted. 

2.  There  is  the  fox,  the  crafty  cheater,  that  steals  the 
grapes.  "Take  in  the  foxes,"  &c.  (Cant.  ii.  15.)  It  is 
God's  charge  to  hunt  him.  He  turns  beasts  out  of  their 
dens  by  defiling  them.  He  sold  his  conscience  to  the  devil 
for  a  stoct  of  villanous  wit.  He  hath  a  stinking  breath, 
corrupted  with  oaths  and  lies  ;  and  a  ravenous  throat  to 
prey  upon  men's  simpleness.  If  all  tricks  fail,  he  will  coun- 
terfeit liimself  dead,  that  so  dra^ving  the  fowls  to  feed  upon 
him,  he  may  feed  upon  them  (Plin.)  The  defrauder 
puts  on  a  semblance  of  great  smoothness  ;  you  would  take 
him  for  a  wonderful  honest  man.  Soft,  you  are  not  yet 
within  his  clutches  ;  when  you  are,  Lord  have  mercy  on  you, 
for  he  will  have  none! 

3.  There  is  the  bloody  wolf,  the  professed  cutthroat,  the 
usurer.  Hunt  him,  seize  on  his  den  ;  it  is  full  of  poor 
men's  goods.  What  a  golden  law  would  that  be  which 
were  called  a  statute  of  restitution  !  Such  a  one  as  Nehe- 
miah  enacted  (Neh.  v.  11),  that  land  and  vineyards,  houses 
and  goods,  mortgaged  into  usurer's  hands,  should  be  restored ; 
when  he  sealed  it  with  a  sacramental  oath,  and  made  them 
swear  consent  to  it.  "  And  he  shook  his  lap,  and  said.  So 
God  shake  out  every  man  fi-om  his  house,  and  from  his 
labour,  that  performeth  not  this  promise  ;  even  thus  be  he 
shaken  out  and  emptied.  And  all  the  congregation  said. 
Amen,"  ver.  13.  But  if  they  will  not  restore  by  them- 
selves, they  shall  by  their  posterity.  For,  as  Pliny  writes 
of  the  wolf,  that  it  brings  forth  blind  whelps  ;  so  the  usurer 


POI.ITIC  HUNTING. 


259 


lightly  begets  blind  children  that  cannot  see  to  keep  what 
their  father  left  them.  But  when  the  father  is  gone  to  hell  for 
gathering,  the  son  often  follows  for  scattering.  But  God 
is  just.  "  A  good  man  leaveth  his  inheritance  to  his  child- 
ren's children  ;  and  the  wealth  of  the  sinner  is  laid  up  for 
the  just,"  Prov.  xiii.  22. 

4.  There  is  also  the  badger,  a  beast  of  rapine.  We  have 
fellows  among  us, -the  engrossers  of  corn,  the  raisers  of  price, 
sweeping  away  whole  markets.  We  call  these  badgers. 
The  poor  that  comes  with  a  little  money,  cannot  speed  but 
at  an  unreasonable  rate  ;  they  engross  all.  And,  by  their 
capacity,  or  rather  rapacity,  having  so  much  in  their  hands, 
they  sell  it  at  the  place  of  their  transporting,  at  their  own 
price. 

5.  The  dromedary  would  also  be  better  hunted.  I  mean 
the  vagi-ant  rogues  whose  lives  are  nothing  but  an  exorbitant 
course  ;  the  main  begging,  the  by's  filching  and  stealing; 
only  they  are  not  so  serviceable  as  the  dromedary,  which  is 
a  beast  of  quick  feet  and  strange  speed.  The  reason  is 
given  by  Aristotle,  because  the  extreme  heat  of  nature  doth 
waste  all  the  unctuosity  and  fatness,  and  thereby  gives 
greater  agility.  But  these  dromedaries  are  not  swift.  Let 
one  charitable  constable  amongst  a  hundred  light  on  him, 
and  give  him  correction,  and  a  passport  to  his  (false-named) 
place  of  birth,  and  he  will  not  travel  above  a  mile  a-day. 
Let  them  alone,  and  they  will  traverse  their  ways  (Jer.  ii. 
13),  which  are  no  ways  ;  for  they  cannot  keep  the  beaten 
path  :  let  them  be  where  they  will,  they  are  never  out  of 
their  way.  They  may  boast  themselves  of  the  brood  of  Cain, 
for  they  are  perpetual  renegades.  If  the  stocks  and  whip- 
post  cannot  stay  their  extravagancy,  there  remains  only  the 
gal-house. 

6.  Let  the  roaring  bull  be  hunted  ;  the  bulls  of  Bashan, 
the  bulls  of  Rome  ;  sent  over  by  the  pope  ad  interitum, 
either  of  us  or  themselves  ;  for  their  end  is  not  implere  ec- 
clesiam,  but  coemiterium :  to  fill  churchyards  with  dead 
bodies,  not  the  church  with  living  souls.  No  service  would 
be  so  welcome  to  them  as  the  Sicilian  vespers,  or  the  Pari- 


260 


POLITIC  }1USTIXG. 


sian  mattiiis.  But  since  no  drug  is  current  in  their  shops 
but  (liacathoUcon,  treason  and  ruin,  let  it  be  first  ministered 
to  themselves  to  purge  their  burning  fevers.  And  since  the 
pope  sends  his  bulls  into  England  so  thick,  bellowing  to  call 
bis  calves  together,  and  to  excite  their  revolting  from  their 
sovereign  ;  let  them  speed  no  otherwise  than  those  bulls 
once  did,  that  called  in  another  bull,  which  was  Bull  the 
hangman,  to  dispatch  them  all. 

If  you  be  disposed  to  hunt,  hunt  these  beasts  that  havoc 
the  commonwealth.  Let  the  lambs  alone,  they  do  much 
good,  no  hurt.  And  to  this  chase  use  all  your  skill :  in 
this  work  it  shall  be  your  commendation  to  be  cunning  hun- 
ters. The  Lord  shall  erapark  you  within  the  pale  of  his 
own  merciful  providence,  and  restrain  the  savage  fury  of 
your  enemies.  Let  those,  whom  God  hath  made  masters 
of  this  serious  game,  and  given  commission  to  hunt  vicious 
persons,  look  to  it.  Let  every  particular  man  hunt  vice  out 
of  his  own  heart.  If  there  be  any  violence  to  get  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  use  it  :  if  any  policy  to  overthrow  Satan  and 
his  accomplices,  against  whom  we  wrestle,  exercise  it.  This 
war  shall  be  your  peace.  You  shall  help  to  purge  the  land 
of  noxious  beasts  ;  and  cleanse  your  own  hearts  from  those 
lusts  which,  if  you  hunt  not  to  death,  shall  hunt  you  to 
death,  as  was  the  moral  of  Acteon.  And  God  that  gives 
you  this  command  and  courage,  shall  add  for  it  a  nKM-cil'iil 
recompense  ;  taking  you  at  last  from  this  militant  cli:ise  to 
the  park  of  his  triumphant  rest.  Amen. 


TAMING  OF  THE  TONGUE. 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  TONGUE. 


But  the  tongue  can  no  man  tame ;  It  Is  an  unruly  evil,  full  of  deadly  poison.*— 
Ul.  8. 


Here  is  a  single  position,  guarded  with  a  double  rea- 
son. The  position  is,  No  man  can  tame  the  tongue.  The 
reasons;  1.  It  is  unruly.  2.  Full  of  deadly  poison.  Here 
is  busy  dealing  with  a  wild  member  ;  a  more  difficult  task ; 
and  intractable  natures  have  met.  Tongue  is  the  subject 
(I  mean  in  the  discourse),  and  can  you  ever  think  of  sub- 
jecting it  to  modest  reason,  or  taming  it  to  religion  ?  Go 
lead  a  lion  in  a  single  hair,  send  up  an  eagle  to  the  sky  to 
peck  out  a  star,  coop  up  the  thunder,  and  quench  a  flaming 
city  with  one  widow's  tears ;  if  thou  couldst  do  these,  yet 
nescit  modb  lingua  domari  (the  tongue  can  no  man  tame). 
As  the  proposition  is  backed  with  two  reasons ;  so  each 
reason  hath  a  terrible  second.  The  evil  hath  for  the  se- 
cond unruliness  ;  the  poisonfulness  hath  deadly.  It  is  evil, 
yea,  unruly  evil ;  it  is  poison,  yea,  deadly  poison.  The  fort 
is  so  barricaded,  that  it  is  hard  scaling  it ;  the  refractory 
rebel  so  guarded  with  evil  and  poison,  so  warded  with  un- 
ruly and  deadly,  as  if  it  were  with  giants  in  an  enchanted 
tower,  as  they  fabulate,  that  no  man  can  tame  it.  Yet  let 
us  examine  the  matter,  and  find  a  stratagem  to  subdue  it. 

In  the  Proposition 
we  will  observe,  1.  The  nature  of  the  thing  to  be  tamed. 


264 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  TONGUE. 


2.  The  difficulty  of  accomplishing  it.  The  insubjectable 
subject  is  the  tongue,  which  is,  1st,  A  member ;  and,  2d, 


He  that  made  all  made  the  tongue ;  he  that  craves  all, 
must  have  the  tongue.  It  is  an  instrument ;  let  it  give 
music  to  him  that  made  it.  All  creatures  in  their  kind 
bless  God  (Psalm  cxlviii).  They  that  want  tongues,  as  the 
heavens,  sun,  stars,  meteors,  orbs,  elements,  praise  him  with 
such  obedient  testimonies  as  their  insensible  natures  can 
aflbrd.  They  that  have  tongues,  though  they  want  reason, 
praise  him  with  those  natural  organs.  The  birds  of  the  air 
sing,  the  beasts  of  the  earth  make  a  noise ;  not  so  much  as 
the  hissing  serpents,  the  very  dragons  in  the  deep,  but 
sound  out  his  praise.  Man,  then,  that  hath  a  tongue,  and 
a  reason  to  guide  it  (and  more,  a  religion  to  direct  his 
reason),  should  much  more  bless  him.  Therefore,  says  the 
psalmographer,  that  for  the  well  tuning  of  his  tongue  is 
called  the  Sweet  Singer  of  Israel,  "  I  will  praise  the  Lord 
with  the  best  instrument  I  have,"  which  was  his  tongue. 

Not  that  praises  can  add  to  God's  glorj-,  nor  blasphemies 
detract  from  it.  The  blessing  tongue  cannot  make  him 
better  nor  the  cursing  worse.  Nec  melior  si  laudaveris,  nee 
deterior  si  vituperaveris  (Aug.  in  Psalm  cxxxiv.)  :  As  the 
sun  is  neither  bettered  by  birds  singing,  nor  battered  by 
dogs  barking.  He  is  so  infinitely  great,  and  constantly 
good,  that  his  glory  admits  neither  addition  nor  diminu- 


Yet  we  that  cannot  make  his  name  greater  can  make  it 
seem  greater ;  and  though  we  cannot  enlarge  his  glory,  we 
may  enlarge  the  manifestation  of  his  glorj-.  This  both  in 
words  praising  and  in  works  practisbig.  We  know  it  is 
impossible  to  make  a  new  Christ,  as  the  papists  boast  the 


Member. 


Jt  is  a  Member. 


tion. 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  TONGUE. 


265 


almightiness  of  their  priests  ;  yet  our  holy  lives  and  happy 
lips  (if  I  may  so  speak)  may  make  a  little  Christ  a  great 
Christ.  They  that  before  little  regarded  hiiu,  may  thus  be 
bi-ought  to  esteem  him  greatly ;  giving  him  the  honour  due 
to  his  name,  and  glorifying  him,  after  our  example. 

This  is  the  tongue's  office.  Every  member,  without  arro- 
gating any  merit,  or  boasting  the  beholdingness  of  the  rest 
unto  it,  is  to  do  that  duty  which  is  assigned  it.  The  eye  is 
to  see  for  all,  the  ear  to  hear  for  all,  the  hand  to  work  for  all, 
the  feet  to  walk  for  all,  the  knees  to  bow  for  all,  the  tongue 
to  praise  God  for  all.  This  is  the  tongue's  office,  not  unlike 
the  town-clerk's,  which,  if  it  perform  not  well,  the  corpora- 
tion is  better  without  it.  The  tongue  is  man's  clapper,  and 
is  given  him  that  he  may  sound  out  the  praise  of  his  Maker. 

f  Creator  ad  esse. 
^  .    J  Conservator  in  esse. 

]  Recreator  in  bene  esse. 
Glorijicator  in  optima  esse. 

{Creator  to  call  into  being. 
Preserver  in  being. 
Restorer  in  well  being. 
Glorifier  in  best  being. 

He  gave  us  being  that  had  none ;  preserved  us  in  that 
being ;  restored  us  voluntarily  fallen  unto  a  better  being ; 
and  will  glorify  us  with  the  best  at  the  day  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.  Then  let  the  tongue  know.  Si  nan  reddet  Deo  faci- 
endo  qwoe  debet,  reddet  ei  patiendo  qua  debet  (August).  If  it 
will  not  pay  God  the  debt  it  owes  him  in  an  active  thank- 
fulness, it  shall  pay  him  in  a  passive  painfiilness.  Let  the 
meditation  hereof  put  our  tongues  into  tune.  "  A  word 
fittly  spoken,  is  like  apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver," 
Prov.  XXV.  11. 

It  is  a  member  you  hear ;  we  must  take  it  with  all  the 
properties  ;  excellent,  necessary,  little,  singular. 

1.  Excellent.  Abstractively  and  simply  understood,  it  is  an 
exceeding  excellent  member,  both 


266 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  TONGUE. 


Quoad 


Majestatem. 
Jucunditatem. 


In  respect  of 


Majesty. 
Pleasantness. 


For  the  majesty  of  it,  it  carries  an  imperious  speech  ; 
wherein  it  hath  the  pre-eminence  of  all  mortal  creatures. 
It  was  man's  tongue  to  which  the  Lord  gave  license  to  call 
all  the  living  creatures,  and  to  give  them  names  (Gen.  ii. 
19).  And  it  is  a  strong  motive  to  induce  and  to  beget 
in  other  terrene  natures  a  reverence  and  admiration  of  man. 
Therefore  it  is  observed,  that  God  did  punish  the  ingrati- 
tude of  Balaam,  when  he  gave  away  some  of  the  dignity 
proper  to  man,  which  is  use  of  speech,  and  imparted  it  to 
the  ass.  Man  alone  speaks.  I  know  that  spirits  can  frame  an 
aerial  voice,  as  the  devil  when  he  spake  in  the  serpent  that 
fatal  temptation,  as  in  a  trunk  ;  but  man  only  hath  the  ha- 
bitual faculty  of  speaking. 

For  the  pleasantness  of  the  tongue,  the  general  consent 
of  all  gives  it  the  truest  melos,  and  restrains  all  musical 
organs  from  the  worth  and  praise  of  it.  "  The  pipe  and 
the  psaltery  make  sweet  melody ;  but  a  pleasant  tongue  is 
above  them  both,"  Eccles.  xl.  21.  No  instruments  are  so 
ravishing,  or  prevail  over  man's  heart  with  so  powerful  com- 
placency, as  the  tongue  and  voice  of  man. 

K  the  tongue  be  so  excellent,  how  then  doth  this  text 
censure  it  for  so  evil  ?  I  take  the  philosopher's  old  and  trite 
answer.  Lingua  nihil  est,  vel  bona  melius,  vel  mala  pejus: 
Than  a  good  tongue,  there  is  nothing  better ;  than  an  evil, 
nothing  worse.  Nihil  habet  medium ;  aut  grande  bonum  est, 
aut  grande  malum  (Hieronimus)  :  It  hath  no  mean ;  it  is 
either  exceedingly  good  or  excessively  evil.  It  knows  no- 
thing but  extremes ;  and  is  either  good,  best  of  all ;  or  bad, 
worst  of  all.  K  it  be  good,  it  is  a  walking  garden,  that 
scatters  in  every  place  a  sweet  flower,  an  herb  of  grace  to 
the  hearers.  If  it  be  evil,  it  is  a  wild  bedlam,  ftdl  of  gad- 
ding and  maddening  mischiefs.  So  the  tongue  is  everj-  man's 
best  or  worst  moveable. 

Hereupon  that  philosophical  servant,  when  he  was  com- 
manded to  provide  the  best  meat  for  his  master's  table,  the 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  TONGDE. 


267 


■worst  for  the  family,  bought  and  brought  to  either  neat's 
tongues.  His  moral  was,  that  this  was  both  the  best  and 
worst  service,  according  to  the  goodness  or  badness  of  the 
tongue.  A  good  tongue  is  a  special  dish  for  God's  public 
service.  Pars  optima  hominis,  digna  quce  sit  hostia  (Pruden- 
tius)  :  The  best  part  of  a  man  and  most  worthy  the  ho- 
nour of  sacrifice.  This  only  when  it  is  well  seasoned. 
Seasoned,  I  say,  with  salt,  as  the  apostle  admonisheth ; 
not  with  fire  (Coloss.  iv.  6).  Let  it  not  be  so  salt  as 
fire  (as  that  proverb  speaks),  which  no  man  living  hath 
tasted.  There  is  "  a  city  of  salt,"  mentioned  Joshua  xv. 
62.  Let  no  man  be  an  inhabitant  of  this  salt  city.  Yet 
better  a  salt  tongue  than  an  oily.  Rather  let  the  righteous 
reprove  me,  than  the  precious  balms  of  flatterers  break  my 
head,  whilst  they  most  sensibly  soothe  and  supple  it.  We 
allow  the  tongue  salt,  not  pepper ;  let  it  be  well  seasoned, 
but  not  too  hot.  Thus  a  good  tongue  is  God's  dish,  and 
he  win  accept  it  at  his  own  table. 

But  an  evil  tongue  is  meat  for  the  devil,  according  to 
the  Italian  proverb  :  The  devU  makes  his  Christmas  pie  of 
lewd  tongues.  It  is  his  daintiest  dish,  and  he  makes  much  of  it ; 
whether  on  earth  to  serve  his  turn  as  an  instrument  of  mis- 
chief, or  in  hell  to  answer  his  fury  in  torments.  Thus  saith 
Solomon  of  the  good  tongue.  "  The  tongue  of  the  just  is 
as  choice  silver,  and  the  lips  of  the  righteous  feed  many," 
Prov.  X.  20,  21.  But  Saint  James  of  the  bad  one:  "  It 
is  an  unruly  evU,  full  of  deadly  poison." 

2.  It  is  necessary,  so  necessary,  that  without  a  tongue  I  could 
not  declare  the  necessity  of  it.  It  converseth  with  man, 
conveying  to  others  by  this  organ  that  experimental  know- 
ledge which  must  else  hve  and  die  in  himself.  It  imparts 
secrets,  communicates  joys,  which  would  be  less  happy  sup- 
pressed than  they  are  expressed :  mirth  without  a  partner 
is  hilaris  cum  pondere  falicitas.  But  to  disburden  griefs, 
and  pour  forth  sorrows  in  the  bosom  of  a  friend,  O  neces- 
sary tongue  !  How  many  hearts  would  have  burst  if  thou 
hadst  not  given  them  vent  1  How  many  souls  fallen  grovel- 
ling under  their  load,  if  thou  hadst  not  called  for  some  sup- 


268 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  TONGUE, 


portance !  How  many  a  panting  spirit  hath  said,  I  -will 
speak  yet  ere  I  die;  and  by  speaking  received  comfort? 
Lastly,  it  speaks  our  devotions  to  heaven,  and  hath  the  ho- 
nour to  confer  with  God.  It  is  that  instrument  which  the 
Holy  Ghost  useth  in  us  to  cry,  Abba,  Father.  It  is  our 
.spokesman ;  and  he  that  can  hear  the  heart  without  a 
tongue,  regardeth  the  devotions  of  the  heart  better  when 
they  are  set  up  by  a  diligent  messenger,  a  faithful  tongue. 

3.  It  is  little.  As  man  is  a  little  world  in  the  great,  so 
is  his  tongue  a  great  world  in  the  little.  It  is  a  little  mem- 
ber, saith  the  apostle  (verse  5),  yet  it  is  a  world  ;  yea  pra- 
vitatis  univei'sitas,  a  world  of  iniquity  (verse  6).  It  is  par- 
vum,  but  pravum ;  little  in  quantity  but  great  in  iniquity. 
What  it  hath  lost  in  the  thickness  it  hath  gotten  in  the 
quickness  ;  and  the  defect  of  magnitude  is  recompensed  in 
the  agility;  an  arm  may  be  longer,  but  the  tongue  is 
stronger ;  and  a  leg  hath  more  flesh  than  it  hath,  besides 
bones  which  it  hath  not ;  yet  the  tongue  still  runs  quicker 
and  faster :  and  if  the  wager  lie  for  holding  out,  without 
doubt  the  tongue  shall  viin  it. 

If  it  be  a  talking  tongue,  it  is  mundits  garrulitatis,  a  world 
of  prating.  If  it  be  a  wangling  tongue,  it  is  mundus  litiga- 
tion is,  a  world  of  babbling.  K  it  be  a  learned  tongue,  it 
is,  as  Erasmus  said  of  Bishop  Tonstal,  mundus  eruditionis,  a 
world  of  learning.  If  it  be  a  petulant  tongue,  it  is  mundus 
scurrilitatis,  a  world  of  wantonness.  If  it  be  a  poisonous 
tongue,  it  is  mundus  infectionis ;  saith  our  apostle,  "  it  de- 
fileth  the  whole  body"  (verse  6).    It  is  little. 

So  little,  that  it  will  scarce  give  a  kite  her  breakfast,  yet 
it  can  discourse  of  the  sun  and  stars,  of  orbs  and  elements, 
of  angels  and  devils,  of  nature  and  arts  ;  and  hath  no  straiter 
limits  than  the  whole  world  to  walk  through.  Homuncio 
est,  gigantia  jactat :  It  is  a  little  member,  yet  boasteth  great 
things  (verse  5). 

Though  it  be  little,  yet  if  good,  it  is  of  great  use.  A 
little  bit  guideth  a  great  horse,  ad  equitis  libitum,  to  the 
rider's  pleasure.  A  Uttle  helm  ruleth  a  great  vessel ;  though 
the  winds  blow,  and  the  floods  oppose,  yet  the  helm  steers 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  TONGUE. 


269 


the  ship.  Though  little,  yet  if  evil,  it  is  of  great  mischief 
"  A  little  leaven  sours  the  whole  lump,"  1  Cor.  v.  G.  A 
little  remora  dangers  a  gi-eat  vessel.  A  little  sickness  dis- 
tempereth  the  whole  body.  A  little  fire  setteth  a  whole 
city  on  combustion.  "  Behold  how  great  a  matter  a  little 
fire  kindleth,"  verse  5. 

It  is  little  in  substance,  }ct  (jreat  ad  affectum,  to  pro- 
voke passion  ;  ad  effectum,  to  produce  action.  A  Jesuit's 
tongue  is  able  to  set  instruments  on  work  to  blow  up  a 
parliament.  So  God  hath  disposed  it  among  the  members, 
that  it  governs  or  misgoverns  all ;  and  is  either  a  good  king, 
or  a  cruel  tjTant.  It  either  prevails  to  good,  or  perverts 
to  evil ;  purifieth  or  putrefieth  the  whole  carcass,  the  whole 
conscience.  It  betrayeth  the  heart,  when  the  heart  would 
betray  God  ;  and  the  Lord  lets  its  double  treason  on  itself, 
when  it  prevaricates  with  him. 

It  is  a  little  leak  that  drowneth  a  ship,  a  little  breach 
that  looseth  an  army,  a  little  spring  that  pours  forth  an 
ocean.  Little  ;  yet  the  lion  is  more  troubled  with  the  Uttle 
wasp  than  with  the  great  elephant.  And  it  is  observable, 
that  the  Egyptian  sorcerers  failed  in  minimis  (the  less),  that 
appeared  sldlful  and  powerful  in  majorihus  (the  gi-eater). 
Doth  Moses  turn  the  waters  into  blood  ?  "  The  magicians  did 
so  with  their  enchantments,"  Exod.  vii.  22.  Doth  Aaron 
stretch  out  his  hand  over  the  waters,  and  cover  the  land 
with  frogs  ?  "  The  magicians  did  so  with  their  enchant- 
ments," Exod.  viii.  7.  "  But  when  Aaron  smote  the 
dust  of  the  land,  and  turned  it  into  lice"  (ver.  17),  the  magi- 
cians could  not  effect  the  like  ;  nor  in  the  "  ashes  of  the  fur- 
nace turned  into  boils  and  blaines,"  chap.  ix.  10.  In  fi-ogs 
and  waters  they  held  a  semblance,  not  in  the  dust  and  ashes 
turned  into  lice  and  sores.  Many  have  dealt  better  with 
the  greater  members  of  the  body  than  with  this  little  one. 
Defecerunt  in  minimis:  virtus  non  minima  est,  minimam  com- 
pescere  linguam. 

4.  It  is  a  singular  member.  God  hath  given  man  two 
ears  ;  one  to  hear  instructions  of  human  knowledge,  the 
other  to  hearken  to  his  divine  precepts ;  the  former  to  con- 


270  THE  TAMING  OF  THE  TOXGUE. 

serve  his  body,  the  latter  to  save  his  soul.  Two  eyes,  that 
■with  the  one  he  might  see  to  his  own  way,  with  the  other 
pity  and  commiserate  his  distressed  brethren.  Two  hands, 
that  with  the  one  he  might  work  for  his  own  Uving,  with 
the  other  give  and  relieve  his  brother's  wants.  Two  feet, 
one  to  walk  on  common  days  to  his  ordinary  labour.  "Man 
goes  forth  in  the  morning  to  his  labour,  and  continues  till 
the  evening,"  Psal.  civ.  23  :  the  other,  on  sacred  days  to 
visit  and  frequent  the  temple  and  the  congregation  of 
saints.  .  But  among  all,  he  hath  given  him  but  one  tongue ; 
which  may  instruct  him  to  hear  twice  so  much  as  he  speaks  ; 
to  work  and  walk  twice  as  much  as  he  speaks.  "  I  vrill 
praise  thee  (O  Lord),  for  I  am  fearfully  and  wonderfully 
made  :  marvellous  are  thy  works  ;  and  that  my  soul  know- 
eth  right  well,"  Psal.  cxxxix.  14.  Stay,  and  wonder  at 
the  wonderful  wisdom  of  God  ! 

1.  To  create  so  Uttle  a  piece  of  flesh,  and  to  put  such 
vigour  into  it :  to  give  it  neither  bones  nor  nerves,  yet  to 
make  it  stronger  than  arms  and  legs,  and  those  most  able 
and  serviceable  parts  of  the  body.  So  that  as  Paul  saith, 
"  On  those  members  of  the  body,  which  we  think  less  ho- 
nourable, we  bestow  more  abundant  honour  :  and  our  un- 
comely parts  have  more  abundant  comeliness,"  1  Cor.  xii. 
23.  So  on  this  httle  weak  member  hath  the  Lord  conferred 
the  greatest  strength  ;  and  as  feeble  as  it  is,  we  find  it  both 
more  necessary  and  more  honourable. 

2.  Because  it  is  so  forcible,  therefore  hath  the  most  wise 
God  ordained  that  it  shall  be  but  little,  that  it  shall  be  but 
one.  That  so  the  paniity  and  singularity  may  abate  the 
%'igour  of  it.  If  it  were  paired,  as  the  arms,  legs,  hands, 
feet,  it  would  be  much  more  unruly.  For  he  that  cannot 
tame  one  tongue,  how  would  he  be  troubled  with  twain  ! 
But  so  hath  the  Creator  provided,  that  things  of  the 
fiercest  and  fireiest  nature  should  be  little,  that  the  malice 
of  them  might  be  somewhat  restrained. 

3.  Because  it  is  so  unruly,  the  Lord  hath  hedged  it  in, 
as  a  man  will  not  trust  a  -wild  horse  in  an  open  pasture,  but 
prison  him  in  a  close  pond.     A  double  fence  hath  tlic 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  TONGUE. 


271 


Creator  given  to  confine  it,  the  lips  and  the  teeth  ;  that 
through  those  mounds  it  might  not  break.  And  hence  a 
threefold  instruction  for  the  use  of  the  tongue  is  insinuated 
to  us. 

1.  Let  us  not  dare  to  pull  up  God's  mounds  ;  nor  like 
■wild  beasts,  break  through  the  circular  limits  wherein  he 
hath  cooped  us.  "  Look  that  thou  hedge  thy  possession 
about  with  thorns,  and  bind  up  thy  silver  and  gold,"  Eccles. 
xxviii.  24.  What,  doth  the  wise  man  intend  to  give  us 
some  thrifty  counsel,  and  spend  his  ink  in  the  rule  of  good 
husbandry,  which  every  worldling  can  teach  himself?  No. 
Yes  ;  he  exhorteth  us  to  the  best  husbandi-y,  how  to  guide 
and  guard  our  tongues,  and  to  thrive  in  the  good  use  of 
speech.  Therefore  declares  himself:  "  Weigh  thy  words  in 
a  balance,  and  make  a  door  and  bar  for  thy  mouth."  Let 
this  be  the  possession  thou  so  hedgest  In,  and  thy  precious 
gold  thou  so  bindest  up.  "  Beware  thou  slide  not  by  it, 
lest  thou  fall  before  him  that  lieth  in  wait."  Commit  not 
burglar)',  by  breaking  the  doors,  and  pulling  do->vn  the  bars 
of  thy  mouth. 

Much  more,  when  the  Lord  hath  hung  a  lock  on  it,  do 
not  pick  it  with  a  false  key.  Rather  pray  with  David,  "  O 
Lord,  open  thou  my  Hps,  and  my  mouth  shall  shew  forth 
thy  praise,"  Psal.  li.  15.  It  is  absurd  in  building,  to  make 
the  porch  bigger  than  the  house;  it  is  as  monstrous  in  na- 
ture, when  a  man's  words  are  too  many,  too  mighty.  Every 
man  mocks  such  a  gaping  boaster  with  Quid  feret  hie  (lignum 
tanto  promissor  hiatu  ?  (What  fruit  is  here  worthy  of  such 
bragging?)  Saint  Bernard  gives  us  excellent  counsel.  Sint 
tua 


(rara, 
Verba.  }vera, 


ponderosa; 


Smultiloquium, 
falsiloquium, 
vaniloquium : 


!few,        ^  (much,  speaking, 

true,  >-  contrary,  -^j  false  speaking, 
weighty ;)  (vaia  speaJdng. 


272  THE  TAMING  OF  THE  TONGUE. 

Let  thy  words  be  few,  tnie,  weighty,  that  thou  mayest 
not  speak  much,  not  falsely,  not  vainly.  Remember  the 
bounds,  and  keep  the  non  ultra. 

2.  Since  God  hath  made  the  tongue  one,  have  not  thou 
a  tongue  and  a  tongue.  Some  are  double-tongued,  as  they 
are  double-hearted.  But  God  hath  given  one  tongue,  one 
heart,  that  they  might  be  one  indeed,  as  they  are  in  num- 
ber. It  is  made  simple  ;  let  it  not  be  double.  God  hath 
made  us  men  ;  we  make  ourselves  monsters.  He  hath  given 
us  two  eyes,  two  ears,  two  hands,  two  feet.  Of  all  these 
we  will  have,  or  at  least  use  but  one.  We  have  one  e}  e  to 
pry  into  others'  faults,  not  an  otlier  to  see  oui-  own.  "\\'e 
have  one  ear  to  hear  the  plaintiff,  not  the  other  for  the  de- 
fendant. We  have  a  foot  swift  to  enter  forbidden  paths, 
not  another  to  lead  us  to  God's  holy  place.  We  have  one 
hand  to  extort,  and  scrape,  and  wound,  and  not  another  to 
reheve,  give  alms,  heal  the  wounded.  But  now  whereas 
God  hath  given  us  but  one  tongue  and  one  heart,  and  bid- 
den us  be  content  with  their  singularity,  we  will  have  two 
tongues,  two  hearts.  Thus  cross  are  we  to  God,  to  nature, 
to  grace  ;  monstrous  men  ;  moiiocidi,  monopudes :  hicorde.i, 
hilingues :  one-eyed,  one-footed  ;  double-tongued,  double- 
hearted.  The  slanderer,  the  flatterer,  the  swearer,  the  tale- 
bearer, are  monstrous  (I  dare  scarce  add)  men  :  as  misshapen 
stigmatics  as  if  they  had  two  tongues  and  but  one  eye ; 
two  heads  and  but  one  foot. 

3.  This  convinceth  them  of  preposterous  folly  that  put 
all  their  malice  into  their  tongue,  as  the  serpent  all  her 
poison  in  her  tail  ;  and,  as  it  were  by  a  chemical  power, 
attract  all  vigour  thither,  to  the  weakening  and  enervation 
of  the  other  parts.  Their  hands  have  chiragram ;  they 
cannot  stretch  them  forth  to  the  poor,  nor  give  relief  to  the 
needy.  Their  feet  podagram  ;  they  cannot  go  to  the  chur  :li. 
Their  eyes  opthalmiam ;  they  cannot  behold  the  mLserable 
and  pity  needing.  Their  ears  surditatem  ;  they  cannot  hear 
the  gospel  preached.  Oh  how  defective  and  sick  all  these 
members  ai'e  !  But  their  tongues  are  in  health  ;  there  is 
blitheness  and  volubility  in  them.    If  they  see  a  distressed 


TnE  TAMING  OF  THE  TONGUE. 


273 


man,  they  can  give  him  talkative  comfort  cnougli  ;  "Be 
warmed,  be  filled,  be  satisfied,"  James  ii.  16.  They  can  fill 
him  with  Scripture  sentences,  but  they  send  him  away  with 
a  hungry  stomach  ;  whereas  the  good  man's  hand  is  as 
ready  to  give  as  his  tongue  to  speak.  But  the  fool's  lipa 
babbleth  foolishness  ;  volat  irrevocahik  verbum.  AVords  run 
like  Asahel ;  but  good  works,  like  the  cripple,  come  laggmg 
ailer. 

We  see  the  nature  of  the  thing  to  be  tamed,  the  tongue  ; 
let  us  consider  the  difficulty  of  this  enterprise.  No  man 
can  do  it.    "Which  we  shall  best  find,  if  we  compare  it  with 

other  °^  body, 

(^creatures  of  the  world. 

With  other  members  of  the  body,  which  are  various  In  their 
faculties  and  offices  ;  none  of  them  idle. 

1.  The  eye  sees  far,  and  beholdeth  the  creatures  in  ccelo, 
solo,  sale :  in  the  heavens,  sun  and  stars  ;  on  the  earth, 
birds,  beasts,  plants,  and  minerals  ;  in  the  sea,  fishes  and 
serpents.  That  it  is  an  unruly  member,  let  our  grand- 
mother speak,  whose  roving  eye  lost  us  all.  Let  Dinah 
speak ;  her  wandering  eye  lost  her  virginity,  caused  the 
effusion  of  much  blood.  Let  the  Jews  speak  concerning  the 
daughters  of  !Midian  ;  what  a  fearful  apostacy  the  eye  pro- 
cured. Yea,  let  David  acknowledge,  whose  petulant  eye 
robbed  Uriah  of  his  wife  and  life,  the  land  of  a  good  soldier, 
his  own  heart  of  much  peace.  Yet  this  eye,  as  unruly  as 
it  is,  hath  been  tamed.  Did  not  Job  make  a  covenant  with 
his  eyes,  that  he  woidd  not  look  upon  a  maid  ?  Job 
xxxi.  1.  The  eye  hath  been  tamed  ;  "but  the  tongue  can 
no  man  tame  ;  it  is  an  unruly  evil." 

2.  The  ear  yet  hears  more  than  ever  the  eye  saw  ;  and 
by  reason  of  the  patulous  admission,  derives  that  to  the  un- 
derstanding whereof  the  sight  never  had  a  glance.  It  can 
listen  to  the  whisperings  of  a  Doeg,  to  the  susurrations  of 
a  devil,  to  the  noise  of  a  siren,  to  the  voice  of  a  DeUlah. 

s 


274  THE  TAJIIXG  OF  THE  TONGUE. 

The  parasite  through  this  window  creeps  into  the  great 
man's  favour ;  he  tunes  his  warbling  notes  to  an  enlarged 
ear.  It  is  a  wild  member,  an  instrument  that  Satan  de- 
lights to  play  upon.  As  unruly  as  it  is,  yet  it  hath  been 
tamed.  Mary  sat  at  the  feet  of  Christ,  and  heard  him 
preach  with  glad  attention.  The  ear  hath  been  tamed  ;  "  but 
the  tongue  can  no  man  tame,"  &c. 

3.  The  foot  is  an  unhappy  member,  and  carries  a  man 
to  much  wickedness.  It  is  often  swift  to  the  shedding  of 
blood  ;  and  runneth  away  from  God,  Jonah's  pace  ;  flying  to 
Tarshish,  when  it  is  bound  for  Nineveh.  There  is  "  a  foot 
of  pride,"  Psal.  xxx\'i.  11,  a  saucy  foot,  that  dares  pre- 
sumptuously enter  upon  God's  freehold.  There  is  a  foot  of 
rebellion,  that  with  an  apostate  malice  kicks  at  God.  There 
is  a  dancing  foot,  that  paceth  the  measures  of  circular  wick- 
edness. Yet,  as  unruly  as  this  foot  is,  it  hath  been  tamed. 
David  got  the  victory  over  it.  "I  considered  my  ways, 
and  turned  my  foot  unto  thy  testimonies,"  Psal.  cxix.  69. 
The  foot  hath  been  tamed ;  "  but  the  tongue  can  no  man 
tame,"  &c. 

4.  The  hand  rageth  and  rangeth  with  ■\'iolence,  to  take 
the  bread  it  never  sweat  for,  to  enclose  fields,  to  depopulate 
towns,  to  lay  waste  whole  countries.  "  They  covet  fields, 
and  houses,  and  vineyards,  and  take  them,  because  their 
hand  hath  power,"  Mic.  ii.  2.  There  is  a  hand  of  extor- 
tion, as  Ahab's  was  to  Naboth  ;  the  greedy  landlord's  to  the 
poor  tenant.  There  is  a  hand  of  fraud  and  of  legerde- 
main, as  the  usurer's  to  his  distressed  borrower.  There  is  a 
hand  of  bribery,  as  Judas,  with  his  quantum  dahitus,  what 
will  you  give  me  to  betray  the  Lord  of  life  ?  There  is  a 
hand  of  lust,  as  Amnon's  to  an  incestuous  rape.  There  is 
a  hand  of  murder,  as  Joab's  to  Abner,  or  Absalom's  to  Am- 
non.  Oh  how  unruly  hath  this  member  been  !  yet  it  hath 
been  tamed ;  not  by  washing  it  in  Pilate's  basin,  but  in 
David's  holy  water,  innocence.  "  I  will  wash  my  hands  in 
innocency,  and  then,  O  Lord,  wiU  I  compass  thine  altar." 
Hereupon  he  is  bold  to  say,  "  Lord,  look  if  there  be  any 
iniquity  in  my  hands,"  Psal.  vii.  3.    God  did  not  repudiate 


THE  TAMING  OF  THF,  TONGUE.  275 

all  the  Jews'  sacrifices,  because  their  hands  -were  full  of  blood, 
Isa.  i.  15.  David's  hands  had  been  besmeared  with  the 
aspersions  of  lust  and  blood,  but  he  had  penitently  bathed 
them  in  his  own  tears  ;  and  because  that  could  not  get  out 
the  stains,  he  faithfully  rinseth  and  clcansefh  them  in  his 
Son's  and  Saviour's  fountain,  the  all-meritorious  blood  of 
Christ.  This  made  them  look  white,  whiter  than  lilies  in 
God's  sight.  "  Therefore  hath  the  Lord  recompensed  me 
according  to  my  righteousness  ;  according  to  the  cleanness 
of  my  hands  in  his  eyesight,"  Psal.  xviii.  24. 

Thus  the  eye,  the  ear,  the  foot,  the  hand,  though  wild 
and  unruly  enough,  have  been  tamed  ;  "  but  the  tongue 
can  no  man  tame  ;  it  is  an  unruly  evil,"  &c. 

With  other  creatures  of  the  world,  whether  we  find  them 
in  the  earth,  air,  or  water. 

1 .  On  the  earth  there  is  the  man-hating  tiger,  yet  man 
hath  subdued  him  ;  and  (they  write)  a  little  boy  hath  led 
him  in  a  string.  There  is  tlie  flock-devouring  wolf,  that 
stands  at  grinning  defiance  with  the  shepherd  ;  mad  to  have 
his  prey,  or  lose  himself;  yet  he  hath  been  tamed.  The 
roaring  lion,  whose  voice  is  a  terror  to  wan,  by  man  hath 
been  subdued.  Yea  serpents,  that  have  to  their  strength 
two  shrewd  additions,  subtlety  and  malice  ;  that  carry  ve- 
nom in  their  mouths,  or  a  sting  in  their  tails,  or  are  all 
over  poisonous  ;  the  very  basilisk,  that  kills  with  his  eyes 
(as  they  write)  three  furlongs  off.  Yea  all  these  savage, 
furious,  malicious  natiu-es,  have  been  tamed ;  "  but  the  tongue 
can  no  man  tame  ;  it  is  an  unruly  evil,"  &c. 

2.  In  the  sea  there  be  great  wonders.  "  They  that  go 
down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  that  do  business  in  great  waters  ; 
these  see  the  works  of  the  Lord,  and  his  wonders  in  the 
deep,"  Psal.  cvii.  23,  24.  Yet  those  natural  wonders  have 
been  tamed  by  our  artificial  wonders,  ships.  Even  the  levi- 
athan himself,  "  out  of  whose  mouth  go  burning  lamps, 
and  sparks  of  fire.  Out  of  his  nostrils  goeth  smoke,  as  out 
of  a  boiling  caldron,"  Job  xli.  19,  20.  Squama  squamce  con- 
juwjitur:  "  the  flakes  of  his  flesh  are  joined  together;  they  are 
firm  in  themselves,  and  cannot  be  moved."    Yet  we  know 


276 


THE  TAMIXG  OF  THE  TONGUE. 


that  this  huge  creature  hath  been  tamed ;  "  but  the  tongue 
can  no  man  tame,"  &c. 

3.  In  the  air,  the  birds  fly  high  above  our  reach,  yet  we 
have  gins  to  fetch  them  down.  A  lure  stops  the  highest 
soaring  hawk  ;  nay,  art  makes  one  fowl  catch  another,  for 
man's  delight  and  benefit ;  incredible  things,  if  they  were 
not  ordinary.  Snares,  lime-twgs,  nets,  tame  them  all  ; 
even  the  pelican  in  the  desert,  and  the  eagle  amongst  the 
cedars.  Thus  saith  our  apostle,  verses  7,8:"  Everj-  kind" 
(not  every  one  of  every  kind,  but  every  kind  of  nature  of  all), 
"  of  beasts,  of  birds,  of  serpents,  and  of  things  in  the  sea, 
is  tamed,  and  hath  been  tamed  of  the  nature  of  man  ;  but 
the  tongue  can  no  man  tame,"  &c. 

Thus  far  then  St  James's  proposition  passeth  without  op- 
position. "  The  tongue  can  no  man  tame  ;"  the  tongue  is 
too  wild  for  any  man's  taming.  It  would  be  a  foolish  ex- 
ception (and  yet  there  are  such  profane  tongues  to  speak  it), 
that  woman  stands  without  this  compass  and  latitude  ;  and 
to  infer,  that  though  no  man  can  tame  the  tongue,  yet 
a  woman  may.  It  is  most  unworthy  of  answer.  "Women, 
for  the  most  part,  hath  the  glibbest  tongues  ;  and  if  ever 
this  impossibility  preclude  men,  it  shall  much  more  anni- 
hilate the  power  of  the  weaker  sex.  "  She  is  loud  ;"  saith 
Solomon ;  a  foolish  woman  is  ever  "  clamorous,"  Prov.  ix.  13. 
She  calls  her  tongue  her  defensive  weapon ;  she  means 
offensive  ;  a  firebrand  in  a  frantic  hand  doth  less  mis- 
chief. The  proverb  came  not  from  nothing,  when  we 
say  of  a  brawling  man.  He  hath  a  woman's  tongue  in  his 
head. 

The  tongue  can  no  man  tame.  Let  us  listen  to  some  weightier 
exceptions.  The  prophets  spake  the  oracles  of  life,  and  the 
apostles  the  words  of  salvation  ;  and  many  men's  speech 
ministers  grace  to  the  hearers.  Yield  it ;  yet  this  general 
rule  will  have  no  exceptions  :  "no  man  can  tame  it :"  man 
hath  no  stern  for  this  ship,  no  bridle  for  this  colt.  How 
then  ?  God  tamed  it.  AVe  by  nature  stammer  as  Moses, 
till  God  open  a  door  of  utterance.  "  I  am  of  imclean  lips," 
saith  the  prophet,  "  and  dwell  with  a  people  of  unclean  lips," 


THE  TAMING  OF  THK  TONGUE.  277 

Isa.  vi.  5.  God  must  lay  a  coal  of  his  own  altar  upon  our 
tongues,  or  they  cannot  be  tamed. 

And  when  they  are  tamed,  yet  they  often  have  an  un- 
ruly trick.  Abraham  lies ;  Moses  murmurs ;  Elias,  for  fear 
of  a  queen  and  a  quean,  wisheth  to  die.  Jonah  frets  for  the 
gourd  ;  David  cries  in  his  heart,  "  All  men  are  liars  ;"  which 
speech  rebounded  even  on  God  himself,  as  if  the  Lord  by 
Samuel  had  deceived  him.  Peter  forswears  his  Master,  his 
Saviour.  If  the  tongues  of  the  just  have  thus  tripped,  how 
should  the  profane  go  upright?  "  The  tongue  can  no  man 
tame." 

The  instruction  hence  riseth  in  full  strength ;  that  God 
only  can  tame  man's  tongue.  Now  the  principal  actions 
hereof  are,  first,  to  open  the  mouth,  when  it  should  not  be 
shut ;  secondly,  to  shut  it,  when  it  should  not  be  open. 

To  open  our  lips  when  they  should  speak  is  the  sole 
work  of  God.  "  O  Lord,  open  thou  my  hps,  and  then  ray 
mouth  shall  be  able  to  shew  forth  thy  praise,"  Psal.  li.  15. 
God  must  open  with  his  golden  key  of  grace,  or  else  our 
tongues  -will  arrogate  a  licentious  passage.  We  had  better 
hold  our  peace,  and  let  our  tongues  he  still,  th^n  set 
them  a-running  till  God  bids  them  go.  God  commands 
every  sinner  to  confess  his  iniquities ;  this  charge  David 
knew  concerned  himself ;  yet  was  David  sUent,  and  then  his 
"  bones  waxed  old"  with  anguish,  Psa.  xxxii.  3.  His 
adultery  cried,  his  murder  cried,  his  ingratitude  cried  for 
revenge  ;  but  still  David  was  mute  ;  and  so  long,  "  day  and 
night,  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  heavy  upon  him."  But  at 
last  God  stopped  the  mouth  of  his  clamorous  adversaries, 
and  gave  him  leave  to  speak.  "  I  acknowledged  my  sin 
unto  thee,  and  mine  iniquity  have  I  not  hid.  I  said,  I  will 
confess  my  transgressions  unto  .the  Lord,  and  thou  for- 
gavest  the  iniquity  of  my  sin."  It  is  Christ  that  must  cast 
out  this  devil.  The  Lord  is  the  best  opener.  lie  did 
open  Lydia's  heart  to  conceive,  Acts  xvi.  14.  He  did  open 
Elisha's  servant's  eyes  to  see,  2  Kings  vi.  17.  He  did  open 
the  prophet's  ears  to  hear,  Isa.  xxxv.  5.  He  did  open  Paul's 
mouth  to  speak,  Col.  iv.  3. 


278 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  TONGUE. 


To  shut  our  lips  when  they  should  not  speak,  is  only  the 
Lord's  work  also.  It  is  Christ  that  casts  out  the  talking 
devil ;  he  shuts  the  wicket  of  our  mouth  against  unsavoury 
speeches.  Wc  may  think  it  a  high  office  (and  worthy  even 
David's  ambition)  to  be  a  "  doorkeeper  in  God's  house" 
(Psal.  Ixxxiv.  10),  when  God  vouchsafes  to  be  a  doorkeeper 
in  our  house. 

Thus  all  is  from  God.  Man  is  but  a  lock ;  God's  Spirit 
the  key  "  that  openeth,  and  no  man  shutteth  ;  that  shutteth, 
and  no  man  openeth,"  Rev.  iii.  7.  He  opens,  and  no  man 
shuts.  I  must  speak  though  I  die,  said  Jeremiah ;  "  his 
word  is  like  fire  in  my  bones,"  Jer.  xx.  9  ;  and  will  make 
me  weary  of  forbearing.  He  shuts,  and  no  man  opens  ;  so 
Zacharias  goes  dumb  from  the  altar,  and  could  not  speak, 
Luke  i.  22. 

Away,  then,  with  arrogation  of  works,  if  not  of  words. 
When  a  man  hath  a  good  thought,  it  is  gratia  infusa  (grace 
infused)  ;  when  a  good  word,  it  is  gratia  effusa  (grace  effused) ; 
when  a  good  work,  it  is  gratia  diffusa  (grace  diffused).  If 
then  man  caimot  produce  words  to  praise  God,  much  less 
can  he  procure  his  works  to  please  God.  If  he  cannot  tune 
his  tongue,  he  can  never  turn  his  heart.  Two  usefiil  bene- 
fits may  be  made  hereof 

1.  It  is  taught  us,  whether  we  have  recourse  to  tame 
our  tongues.  He  that  made  the  tongue  can  tame  the 
tongue.  He  that  gave  man  a  tongue  to  speak,  can  give 
him  a  tongue  to  speak  well.  He  that  placed  that  unruly 
member  in  his  mouth,  can  give  him  a  mouth  to  rule  it  He 
can  give  psalms  for  carols ;  the  songs  of  Zion  for  the  bal- 
lads of  hell.  Man  hath  no  bridle,  no  cage  of  brass,  nor 
bars  of  iron  to  tame  it ;  God  can.  Let  us  move  our  tongues 
to  entreat  help  for  our  tongues  ;  and,  according  to  their 
ofiice,  let  us  set  them  on  work  to  speak  for  themselves. 

2.  We  must  not  be  idle  ourselves  ;  the  difficulty  must 
spur  us  to  more  earnest  contention.  As  thou  wouldst  keep 
thy  house  from  thieves,  thy  garments  from  moths,  thy  gold 
from  rust,  so  carefully  preserve  thy  tongue  fronj  unruliness. 
"  As  the  Lord  doth  set  a  watch  before  thy  mouth,  and 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  TONGUE. 


279 


keep  the  door  of  thy  lips,"  Psal.  cxli.  3  ;  so  thou  must  also 
be  vigilant  thyself,  and  not  turn  over  tliy  own  heart  to  se- 
curity. "  How  can  ye,  being  evil,  speak  good  things  ?  for 
out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh," 
Matth.  xii.  34.  Look  how  far  the  heart  is  good,  so  far 
the  tongue.  If  the  heart  believe,  the  tongue  will  confess  ; 
if  the  heart  be  meek,  the  tongue  will  be  gentle  ;  if  the  heart 
be  angry,  the  tongue  vnll  be  bitter.  The  tongue  is  but  the 
hand  without  to  shew  how  the  clock  goes  within.  A  vain 
tongue  discovers  a  vain  heart ;  but  some  have  words  soft 
as  butter,  when  their  hearts  are  keen  swords  ;  be  they  never 
so  well  traded  in  the  art  of  dissembling,  sometime  or  other 
the  tongue,  Judas-like,  will  betray  the  master  ;  it  will 
mistake  the  heart's  errand,  and,  with  stumbling  forget- 
fulness,  trip  at  the  door  of  truth.  "  The  heart  of  fools 
is  in  their  mouth  :  but  the  mouth  of  the  wise  is  in  their 
heart."  To  avoid  ill  communication,  hate  ill  cogitation : 
a  polluted  heart  makes  a  foul  mouth  ;  therefore  one  day, 
ex  ore  tuo,  "  out  of  thine  own  mouth  will  God  condemn 
thee." 

1.  It  is  an  unruly  evil. 

The  difficulty  of  taming  the  tongue,  one  would  think, 
were  sufficiently  expressed  in  the  evil  of  it ;  but  the  apostle 
seconds  it  with  another  obstacle,  signifying  the  wild  nature 
of  it,  unruly.  It  is  not  only  an  evil,  but  an  unruly  evil. 
I  will  set  the  champion  and  his  second  together  in  this 
fight,  and  then  shew  the  hardness  of  the  combat. 

Bernard  saith  :  Lingua  facile  volat,  et  ideo  facile  violat : 
The  tongue  runs  quickly,  therefore  wrongs  quickly.  Speedy 
is  the  pace  it  goes,  and  therefore  speedy  is  the  mischief  it 
does.  ^Vhen  all  other  members  are  dull  with  age,  the 
tongue  alone  is  quick  and  nimble.  It  is  an  unruly  evil  to 
ourselves,  to  our  neighbours,  to  the  whole  world  (Erasmus). 

1.  To  ourselves  ;  verse  6,  "  it  is  so  placed  among  the 
members,  that  it  defileth  all."  Though  it  were  evil  as  the 
plague,  and  unruly  as  the  possessed  Gergesenes  (Matth.  viii. 
28),  yet  if  set  off  with  distance,  the  evil  rests  within  itself.  A 


280  THE  TAMING  OF  THE  TONGUE. 

leper  shut  up  in  a  pcsthouse,  rankleth  to  himself,  infects 
not  others.  A  wild  cannibal  in  a  prison  may  only  exercise 
his  savage  cruelty  upon  the  stone  walls  or  iron  gates.  But 
the  tongue  is  so  placed,  that  being  evil  and  unruly,  it  hurts 
all  the  members. 

2.  To  our  neighbours.  Tlicre  are  some  sins  that  hurt 
not  the  doer  only,  but  many  sufferers.  These  are  distinctly 
the  sins  of  the  tongue  and  the  hand.  There  are  other  sins, 
private  and  domestic,  the  sting  and  smart  whereof  die 
in  the  soul ;  and  without  farther  extent,  plague  only 
thy  own  soul ;  and  without  farther  extent,  plague  only  the 
person  of  the  committer.  So  the  lavish  is  called  no  man's 
jfoe  but  his  own  :  the  proud  is  guilty  of  his  own  vanity  ;  the 
slothful  bears  his  own  reproach  :  and  the  malicious  wasteth 
the  marrow  of  his  own  bones,  while  his  envied  object  shines 
in  happiness.  Tliough  perhaps  these  sins  insensibly  wrong 
the  commonwealth,  yet  the  principal  and  immediate  blow 
lights  on  themselves.  But  some  iniquities  are  swords  to 
the  country,  as  oppression,  rapine,  circumvention  ;  some  in- 
cendiaries to  the  whole  land,  as  evil  and  unruly  tongues. 

3.  To  the  whole  world.  If  the  vastate  ruins  of  ancient 
monuments  ;  if  the  depopulution  of  countries  ;  if  the  con- 
suming fires  of  contention  ;  if  the  land  manured  with  blood 
had  a  tongue  to  speak,  they  would  all  accuse  the  tongue  for 
the  original  cause  of  then*  woe.  Slaughter  is  a  lamp,  and 
blood  the  oU ;  and  this  is  set  on  fire  by  the  tongue. 

You  see  the  latituilc  and  extent  of  this  unruly  evil,  more 
unruly  than  the  hand.  Slaughters,  massacres,  oppressions, 
are  done  by  the  hand ;  the  tongue  doth  more.  Parcit 
manus  ahscnti,  lingua  nemini:  The  hand  spares  to  hurt  the 
absent ;  the  tongue  hurts  all.  One  may  avoid  the  sword  by 
running  from  it  ;  not  the  tongue,  though  he  run  to  the  In- 
dies. The  hand  reacheth  but  a  small  compass  ;  the  tongue 
goes  through  the  world.  K  a  man  wore  coat  of  armour  or 
mail  of  brass,  yet  penetrabunt  spicula  linguae  :  the  darts  of  the 
tongue  will  pierce  it. 

It  is  evil,  and  doth  much  harm  ;  it  is  unruly,  and  doth 
sudden  harm.    You  will  say,  many  wicked  men  have  often 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  TONGUE. 


281 


very  silent  tongues.  True ;  they  know  their  times  and 
places,  when  and  where  to  seem  mute.  But  Jeremiah  com- 
pounds the  wisdom  and  folly  of  the  Jews  :  that  "  they  were 
wise  to  do  evil,  but  to  do  good  they  had  no  understanding," 
Jer.  iv.  22.  So  I  may  say  of  these,  they  have  tongue 
enough  to  speak  evil,  but  are  dumb  when  they  should  speak 
well. 

Our  Saviour,  in  the  days  of  his  flesh  on  earth,  was  often 
troubled  with  dumb  devils  (Luke  xi.  14)  ;  but  now  he  is 
as  much  troubled  with  roaring  devils.  With  the  fawning 
sycophant,  a  prattling  devil ;  with  the  malicious  slanderer, 
a  brawling  devil  ;  with  the  unquiet  peace-hater,  a  scolding 
devil ;  with  the  avarous  and  ill-conscious  lawyer,  a  wrang- 
ling devil ;  with  the  factious  schismatic,  a  gaping  devil  ; 
with  the  swaggering  rufiian,  a  roaring  de\Tl.  All  whom 
Christ  by  his  ministers  doth  conjure,  as  he  once  did  that 
crying  devil,  "  Hold  thy  peace  and  come  out."  These  are 
silent  enough  to  praise  God,  but  loud  as  the  cataracts  of 
Nilus  to  applaud  vanity.  Dav-id  said  of  himself,  that 
"  when  he  held  his  peace,  yet  he  roared  all  the  day  long," 
Psal.  xxxii.  3.  Strange !  be  silent,  and  yet  roar  too,  at 
once  !  Gregory  answers  :  He  that  daily  commits  new  sins, 
and  doth  not  penitently  confess  his  old,  roars  much,  yet 
holds  his  tongue.  The  father  pricked  the  plem-isy-vein  of 
our  times.  For  we  have  many  roarers,  but  dumb  roarers, 
though  they  can  make  a  hellish  noise  in  a  tavern,  and  swear 
down  the  devil  himself;  yet  to  praise  God,  they  are  as  mute 
as  fishes. 

Saint  James  here  calls  it  fire.  Now  you  know  fire  is  an 
iU  master ;  but  this  is  unruly  fire.  Nay,  he  calls  it  the  fire 
of  hell,  blown  with  the  bellows  of  malice,  kindled  with  the 
breath  of  the  devil.  Nay,  Stella  hath  a  conceit  that  it  is 
worse  than  the  fire  of  hell  ;  for  that  torments  only  the 
wicked  ;  this  all,  both  good  and  bad.  For  it  is  Jiahellum 
invidi  (the  fan  of  the  envious),  and  flagellum  justi  (the 
scourge  of  the  good).  Swearers,  railers,  scolds,  have  hell- 
fire  in  their  tongues. 

This  would  seem  incredible  ;  but  that  God  saith  it  is  true. 
Such  are  hellish  people,  that  spit  abroad  the  flames  of  the 


282 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  TONGUE. 


devil.  It  is  a  cursed  mouth  that  spits  fire  ;  how  should  we 
avoid  those  as  men  of  hell !  Many  are  afraid  of  hell-fire,  j-et 
nourish  it  in  their  own  tongues.  By  this  kind  of  language, 
a  man  may  know  who  is  of  hell.  There  are  three  sorts  of 
languages  observed  :  celestial,  terrestrial,  and  infernal.  The 
heavenly  language  is  spoken  by  the  saints.  "  Blessed  are 
they  that  dwell  in  thy  house  :  they  will  be  still  praising  thee," 
Psalm  Ixxxiv.  4.  Their  discourse  is  habituated,  like  their 
course  or  conversation,  which  Paul  saith  is  heavenly  (Phil, 
iii.  20).  The  earthly  tongue  is  spoken  of  worldlings  :  "  He 
that  is  of  the  earth  is  earthly  :  and  speaketh  of  the  earth," 
John  iii.  31.  Worldly  talk  is  for  worldly  men.  The  in- 
fernal language  is  spoken  by  men  of  hell ;  such  as  have  been 
taught  by  the  de^il :  they  speak  like  men  of  Belial.  Now, 
as  the  countryman  is  known  by  his  language,  and  as  the 
damsel  told  Peter,  "  Sure  thou  art  of  Galilee,  for  thy  speech 
bewrayeth  thee  so  by  this  nile  you  may  know  heavenly 
men  by  their  gracious  conference  ;  earthly  men  by  their 
worldly  talk  ;  and  hellish,  by  the  language  of  the  low  coun- 
tries— swearing,  cursing,  blasphemy. 

Well  therefore  did  the  apostle  call  this  tongue  a  fire ; 
and  such  a  fire  as  sets  the  whole  world  in  combustion. 
Let  these  unruly  tongues  take  heed  lest  by  their  roar- 
ings they  shake  the  battlements  of  heaven,  and  so  wa- 
ken an  incensed  God  to  judgment.  There  is  a  "  curse 
that  goeth  forth,  and  it  shall  enter  into  the  house  of  the 
swearer,  and  not  only  cut  him  off,  but  consume  his  house, 
with  the  timber  and  the  stones  of  it,"  Zech.  v.  4.  It 
was  the  prophet  Jeremiah's  complaint,  that  "  for  oaths  the 
land  mourned,"  Jer.  xxiii.  10.  No  marvel  if  God  curse 
us  for  our  cursings  ;  and  if  the  plague  light  upon  our  bo- 
dies, that  have  so  hotly  trolled  it  in  our  tongues  ;  no  won- 
der if  we  have  blistered  carcasses  that  hare  so  blistered  con- 
sciences ;  and  the  stench  of  contagion  punish  us  for  our 
stinking  breaths.  Our  tongues  must  walk,  till  the  hand  of 
God  walk  against  us. 

2.  Full  of  deadly  poison. 
Poison  is  homini  inimicum ;  loathsomely  contrary  to  man's 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  TONGUE. 


283 


nature ;  but  there  is  a  poison  not  mortal,  the  venom 
■whereof  may  be  expelled  ;  that  is  deadly  poison.  Yet  if 
there  was  but  a  Uttle  of  this  resident  in  the  wicked  tongue, 
the  danger  -were  less ;  nay,  it  is  full  of  it,  full  of  deadly 
poison. 

Tell  a  blasphemer  this,  that  he  vomits  hell  fire,  and  car- 
ries deadly  poison  in  his  mouth  ;  and  he  will  laugh  at  thee. 
Beloved,  we  preach  not  this  of  our  own  heads ;  we  have 
our  infallible  warrant.  God  speaks  it.  "  The  poison  of  asps  is 
under  their  lips,"  saith  the  psalmist  (Psalm  cxl.  3).  It  is  a 
loathsome  thing  to  carry  poison  in  one's  mouth  ;  we  would 
fly  that  serpent,  yet  yield  to  converse  with  that  man.  A 
strangely  hated  thing  in  a  beast,  yet  customable  in  many 
men's  tongues.  Whom  poison  they  ?  First,  Themselves  ; 
they  have  speckled  souls.  Secondly,  They  sputter  their 
venom  abroad,  and  bcspurtle  others  ;  no  beast  can  cast  his 
poison  so  far.  Thirdly,  Yea  they  would  (and  no  thanks 
to  them  that  they  cannot)  poison  God's  most  sacred  and 
feared  name.  Let  us  judge  of  these  things,  not  as  flesh 
and  blood  imagineth,  but  as  God  pronounceth. 

It  is  observable  that  which  way  soever  a  wicked  inan 
useth  his  tongue,  he  cannot  use  it  well.  Mordet  detrahendo, 
lingit  adulando :  He  bites  by  detraction,  licks  by  flattery  ; 
and  either  of  these  touches  rankle  ;  he  doth  no  less  hurt  by 
licking  than  by  biting.  All  the  parts  of  his  mouth  are  in- 
struments of  wickedness.  Logicians,  in  the  diflerence  be- 
twi.xt  vocem  and  sonum,  say  that  a  voice  is  made  by  the  lips, 
teeth,  throat,  tongue. 

The  psalmographer  on  every  one  of  these  hath  set  a 
brand  of  wickedness.  1.  The  lips  are  labia  dolosa  ;  "  Ijing 
lips,"  Psalm  cxx.  2.  2.  The  teeth  are  frementes,  frendentes ; 
"  gnashing  teeth."  3.  The  tongue  lingua  mendax,  lingua  mor- 
dax:  (mendacious  and  mordacious).  "  What  shall  be  done 
unto  thee,  thou  false  tongue?"  Psalm  cxx.  3.  The  throat 
patens  sepulch-um :  "  Their  throat  is  an  open  sepulchre," 
Rom.  iii.  13.  This  is  a  monstrous  and  fearful  mouth; 
where  the  porter,  the  porch,  the  entertainer,  the  receiver, 
are  all  vicious.  The  lips  are  the  porter,  .and  that  is  fraud  ; 
the  porch  the  teeth,  and  there  is  malice ;  the  entertainer, 


284 


THE  TAMING  OF  THK  TONGUE. 


the  tongue,  and  there  is  lying ;  the  receiver,  the  throat, 
and  there  is  devouring. 

I  cannot  omit  the  moral  of  that  old  fable.  Three  chil- 
dren call  one  man  father,  who  brought  them  up.  Djing, 
he  bequeaths  all  his  estate  only  to  one  of  them,  as  his  true 
natural  son  ;  but  which  that  one  was,  left  uncertain.  Here- 
upon every  one  claims  it.  The  wise  magistrate  for  speedy 
decision  of  so  great  an  ambiguity,  causcth  the  dead  father 
to  be  set  up  as  a  mark,  promising  the  challengers,  that 
which  of  them  could  shoot  next  his  heart,  should  enjoy  the 
patrimony.  The  elder  shoots,  so  doth  the  second  ;  both  hit. 
But  when  it  came  to  the  younger's  turn,  he  utterly  refused 
to  shoot ;  good  nature  would  not  let  him  wound  that  man 
dead,  that  bred  and  fed  him  living.  Therefore  the  judge 
gave  all  to  this  son,  reputing  the  former  bastards.  The 
scope  of  it  is  plain,  but  significant.  God  will  never  give 
them  the  legacy  of  glorj-,  given  by  his  Son's  will  to  children, 
that  like  bastards  shoot  through,  and  wound  his  blessed 
name.    Think  of  this,  ye  swearing  and  cursing  tongues  ! 

To  conclude,  God  shall  punish  such  tongues  in  their  own 
kind ;  they  were  full  of  poison,  and  the  poison  of  another 
stench  shall  swell  them.  They  have  been  inflamed,  and 
shall  be  tormented  with  the  fire  of  hell.  Burning  shall  be 
added  to  burning ;  save  that  the  first  was  active,  this  pas- 
sive. The  rich  glutton,  that  when  his  belly  was  full  could 
loose  his  tongue  to  blasphemy,  wanted  water  to  cool  his 
tongue.  His  tongue  sinned,  his  tongue  smarted.  Though 
his  torment  was  universal,  yet  he  complains  of  his  tongue. 
That  panted,  that  smoked,  that  reeked  with  sulphur  and 
brimstone  :  that  burns  witli  the  flame  of  hell  dead,  that 
burned  with  it  living.  For  a  former  tune  of  sin  it  hath  a 
present  tone  of  woe.  It  scalded,  and  is  scalded  ;  as  it  cast 
abroad  the  flames  of  hell  in  this  world,  so  aU  the  flames  cf 
hell  shall  be  cast  on  it  in  the  world  to  come.  It  hath  fired, 
and  shall  be  fired  with  such  fire  as  is  not  to  be  quenched. 
But  blessed  is  the  sanctified  tongue.  God  doth  now  choose 
it  as  an  instrument  of  music  to  sing  his  praise ;  he  doth 
water  it  with  the  saving  dews  of  Ms  mercy,  and  will  at  last 
advance  it  to  glory. 


1  1012  ol  03  J  48 f '3 

